The Royal Protector
by SniperCT
Summary: Cassandra accepts a position in Arendelle under Queen Elsa, hoping to put her feelings for Rapunzel aside. Unfortunately for her, Elsa is charming, beautiful, and smart. Despite being all together different from Rapunzel, Cassandra finds herself fighting a losing battle. Especially when things turn deadly and Elsa appoints her the Royal Protector.
1. Arrival

"What do you think she's like?" Anna bounced on her heels as the ship came into view. It wasn't often that they got new staff for the castle, let alone one with a royal recommendation.

Kristoff pulled out a letter and looked it over. The script was flowey and described Cassandra as studious and skilled in court manners, as well as skilled with sword and defense. "I can't tell if she's supposed to be a Lady in Waiting or a personal bodyguard."

"Both." Anna started to bounce faster.

Flipping the letter over, Kristoff noticed different handwriting, much messier, "She's apparently and I quote, _'A really nice person for a she-devil with a sword'_.'"

"I think I like her already." Anna clasped her hands behind her back as she waited impatiently for the ship to dock. It wasn't so bad, she liked watching the sailors work.

Once the ship was tied off, the gangplank lowered and they were greeted with their first look at Elsa's new Lady in Waiting.

She was dressed in a nice tunic and pants, and had shoulder length brown hair, and her expression was unguarded, as though her thoughts were very far away. Anna figured she must be a little homesick. She knew she would be. "Cassandra!"

She waved enthusiastically, "Over here! Hi! I'm Anna, this is Kristoff. You can call me Princess. I mean, Anna, call me Anna. You're pretty."

Kristoff put his hand on Anna's shoulder. "Reel it in."

"Right." Anna jumped up the gangplank and held out her hand.

Cassandra took it, smiling easily, "Princess Anna, it's nice to meet you. I wasn't expecting a royal welcome. It reminds me a little of..."

Her expression faltered, and then she seemed to close up. "Thank you."

Anna glanced at Kristoff, then back to Cassandra. "Well. Okay. Let's give you a quick tour of the town and then on to the castle, all right?"

"Sounds good."

Leading the way, Anna pointed towards part of the dock. "That's where I punched Prince Hans. They won't let me put up a statue. Something about it being a waste of money. Pfft."

When Raps and Eugene had a kid eventually, Cassandra was positive Anna would be the result. "They're big on statues in Corona."

"Hear that, Kristoff? They're big on statues in Corona," Anna said, smugly. "I'm gonna use that argument next time. Nothing gets things done like competition!"

She turned back to Cassandra, "Anyway, you're almost in time for winter, I hope you like snow!"

"I'm used to a little snow," Cass assured them. "It doesn't bother me."

Anna waved her hand dismissively, "You're so cute. A _little_ snow."

"You'd think with an Ice Queen we'd have calmer winters," Kristoff remarked.

"She makes ice and snow, she can't control the weather. I think." Anna shrugged, grabbing both their hands and dragging them into the town proper. "Besides, it's probably a bad idea to mess with the weather too much. What if it affected like, the harvest?"

What, she'd totally been paying attention to the advisors when they talked about the state of the country.

"Magic is tricky," Cass said. "Sometimes what seems like a good idea ends up having consequences."

"Kind of that way with everything," Kristoff agreed. Life was much simpler when everyone slowed down and calmed down and _thought before they did it_. Whatever the it might happen to be.

"Hello!"

Something grabbed Cass's hand, and she looked down, expecting a child. Instead of a child it was a snowman. Honestly, not even in the top ten weirdest things so she didn't miss a beat, "Hello."

"I'm Olaf, and you are…?"

"Cassandra. I'm Queen Elsa's new Lady in Waiting."

"What are you waiting for?"

"It's just a title." She glanced up at Anna and Kristoff, then back to Olaf. "It means I help her out. Everything from getting dressed in the morning to offering advice at court."

"Why?"

"Even a Queen needs some help now and again."

Olaf stared at her for a long moment. "Okay!" He started to walk off towards the castle, commenting, "I'm gonna be a snowman in waiting."

"You kinda look a lot less freaked out than I figured," Anna said, looking Cassandra over with a mix of confusion and respect. "Like most people at least jump a little when he starts talking."

"My last job involved chasing around a girl with glowing magical hair," Cassandra deadpanned. " A talking snowman is nothing."

She rubbed her arm, then took a breath. "I'm ready to see the castle, Princess."

"Okay! Great! This is gonna be great! You know, maybe I should get a Lady in Waiting." Anna started to walk, then slowed down so the other two could keep up. "But I mean, do I need one? I don't even know. It's not like _I'm_ gonna rule the kingdom or something. My kids won't even, unless Elsa like, doesn't have any. Which is honestly a kind of a possibility."

She glanced back at Cassandra and flushed. "Uh, sorry, I get..I start talking and then the words keep coming and I don't stop and really you could just tell me to stop at any time and I meant to ask, and you don't have to answer but I'm dying to know why did you come to Arendelle?"

"Honey?"

"Yes?"

Kristoff gestured towards his chest, "Remember to breathe when talking."

"Right. Got it!"

A pained expression crossed Cassandra's face for a split second before she replied, "I needed a change."

"Well, moving from Princess to a Queen is definitely a promotion!" Anna turned around and started to walk backwards. "I'm sure you'll fit in. And just wait until you meet my sister! She's really nice, especially when you get her to warm up to you."

"Does she warm up to strangers?"

"Kinda? If you ask me, she's still worried about her powers, but she's gotten a lot better at using them and a lot more relaxed than she used to be. She was _so_ uptight."

"You should have seen how overboard she went for Anna's birthday," Kristoff said. "Made herself sick in the process."

"It sounds like she really cares. Raps— Princess Rapunzel would do something like that. Make herself sick for someone she cared about."

Anna darted her eyes, but didn't call attention to Cassandra's slip. Go her! "You just described Elsa and me and Kristoff."

"Sounds great, I'm going to have my hands full with all of you."

Kristoff smiled, " _Yep_."

"Oh!" Anna grabbed Cassandra's hand again. "You've gotta meet Sven!"


	2. First Impressions

Growing up in her self-imposed isolation, Elsa had found plenty of time to study. She'd devoured books on matters of state and diplomacy, and discovered a love of mathematics and geometry. It made sense in hindsight that she'd be drawn to things that might give her a sense of control.

Today, she felt a little less in control than she was comfortable with. It was also a little exciting, meeting someone new and one of many things she'd shied away from as a child. New people meant too much risk of her secret being exposed, and in the thirteen years the gates had been closed, she couldn't recall any visitors to be excited about anyway.

Court was moving slowly, too. Several disputes that required a delicate touch and took a lot of time to sort out took up most of the morning and she was glad for the last petitioner to leave by the time lunch came around.

Typically, she had lunch with Anna, and sometimes Kristoff but with both off to greet her new Lady in Waiting, it meant she had to take it alone. She decided she didn't actually like it. Dining alone brought back too many bad memories and she could feel Anna's absence like a weight in her chest.

But that was part of the problem. Elsa was stuck in a strange place between not wanting to isolate herself (to the point of clinginess), but also wanting time just for herself because other people were, quite frankly, overwhelming. It gave her a headache.

It probably shouldn't take this long to escort someone from the docks, and Elsa assumed Anna was giving Cassandra the grand tour. That _probably_ meant most of Anna's favorite spots, the treat shop and some other imaginative adventure.

She walked to a window overlooking the courtyard, and spied several figures approaching in the waning light. Anna was unmistakable, a walking container of light and joy. Elsa turned and made her way down the hall and the stairs, wanting to greet them.

The guards had already opened the main doors by the time she got there, and she came to a stop near a tapestry as Olaf toddled in first, followed by Kristoff, Sven and Anna.

Cassandra was the last to enter and Elsa realized it was silly to be hiding in the tapestries. She stepped out into the light and offered her best smile. "Welcome to Arendelle, Cassandra. I'm Elsa."

Cassandra's eyes were dark and deep and left Elsa feeling curious about what lay within. Cassandra seemed guarded, a feeling that Elsa understood all too well. She hoped… she _wanted_ Cass to feel at home here. Elsa wondered what had chased her away from Corona.

"Your majesty." Cassandra curtsied, fluid and practiced.

From what Elsa had read, she couldn't have picked a better woman, but only time would tell if she'd actually mesh here or not, "Please, call me Elsa, at least when it's just us."

Nodding, Cassandra relaxed. Or at least she tried to. "All right, Elsa. So when should we get started?"

"You probably want to settle in to your room at least, before getting to work," Elsa said. "It's...Anna, where are you going?"

Anna had started to drag Kristoff towards the door, and paused. She laughed a little too loudly, "Oh, just got… things to do. And you guys should _totally_ start getting to know each other and stuff."

She waved her hand and tugged a very confused looking Kristoff out the door.

"Your sister is nice," Cassandra said, finding it easier to stare at the door than look at the Queen.

Elsa just raised an eyebrow.

"And a little exhausting."

Laughing, Elsa gestured for Cassandra to walk with her. "You don't know the half of it. I don't know where she gets all that energy."

"I used to think Raps was sun powered." Cassandra winced. She really had to stop doing that. "Princess Rapunzel. Almost as much energy as Anna and twice the optimism."

"That's a _lot_ of optimism."

"Yeah…" Cassandra sighed.

Stopping at a door, Elsa studied her. She felt like there was more to what was bothering Cassandra than what she was letting on. "Is everything all right?"

"Just a little home sick."

"That's understandable." She opened the door to reveal Cass's room. It was larger than the one in Corona, with large windows and a view of the bay. "My chambers are at the end of the hall. I've...never really had a lady-in-waiting before. I don't know what to expect."

Putting a hand on Elsa's back, Cassandra smiled reassuringly. "Luckily, I know all the tricks." Arendelle would have its own nuances she'd have to learn, but she didn't think that would take too long. It was the cultural aspects she'd have a harder time with, but that would come with exposure and time.

"You won't have to help me dress too often at least," Elsa said, acutely aware of the hand on her back. She found it difficult to step away and yet she did, turning towards Cass and twirling her hand. A swirl of frost ran up her body, turning her dress from her royal robes into a hip-hugging gown in a dark navy shade.

"I guess that makes my job a little easier," Cassandra said, voice just a little too tight and eyes just a little too wide.

Cassandra's voice wasn't the only one that was a little too tight. Elsa took a deep breath. "Your things should be here any moment. Once you're settled, come find me. I'll be in my room."


	3. A Queen and Her Handmaiden

The door closed behind the Queen and Cassandra's knees started to give out. She sank on to the bed and buried her face in her hands. " _Great_ first impression there, Cass."

She hadn't been aware of that aspect of Elsa's magic, nor for how beautiful Elsa was. If she hadn't been so practiced at really hiding her feelings that might have gotten more than a little awkward.

Someone banged at the door, and she got up and opened it. For the next minute she directed the traffic of her things. Several chests, her weapon cabinet (or _War_ drobe as Eugene had called it), and a few other odds and ends. Cass found immediate comfort in opening the wardrobe and withdrawing one of her swords. The weight and feel of it in her hand was soothing, and she swung it around lightly before she placed it back inside.

Something caught her eye, a rolled up parchment tucked neatly between two axes. Cass reached for it and carefully pulled it out and unrolled it.

It was a painting, Rapunzel beaming out at her, her arm around Cassandra. Everything blurred, and she almost missed the note that fell to the floor.

 _Cass,_

 _I'm going to miss you so much, but I'm so happy for you too. If you believe that this is what's best, then I'll never stand in the way. And I've got a good feeling, too. You'll do us all proud, and you deserve everything good thing that's coming your way._

 _I wish you all the best._

 _Love, Raps_

She could still remember the warmth of Rapunzel's arms around her in that last, tight hug. The feel of her lips against her cheek, the sound of her voice saying goodbye.

After months of bottling up her emotions and weeks at sea, she finally cried, sliding to the ground and burying her face into her knees. It wasn't loud crying, or wracked, painful sobbing, but it was still crying out a storm of emotion. But as much as she hurt, it actually felt ... good. A release of pressure at the back of her head and deep in her heart and she didn't even try to fight it. It was something she'd never let anyone see, except maybe Rapunzel and even then she'd have to be injured or exhausted beyond caring for that to happen.

Cass finally stood after a good while. She knew all the tricks for covering up that someone had been crying. The right kind of make-up to use and some eye drops to reduce the redness in the eyes, tricks useful for Queens or commoners.

Once she was satisfied she looked presentable, she left her room and walked down the hallway to Elsa's. Knocking, she called out, "Elsa, it's Cass."

"Come in."

Opening the door, Cass peered in. Elsa had let her hair down out of her usual braids, it hung down to just above her rear. Cass let herself in and grabbed a brush as she approached Elsa. "Let's get your hair brushed and we can talk out your plans for tomorrow."

"You don't really need to…. oh, that's nice…" Elsa closed her eyes, leaning back against Cassandra as the brush moved through her hair.

Elsa's hair was somehow softer than Rapunzel's, a fact that Cassandra had been in no way prepared for. She ran her fingers through it, then the brush, forgetting for the moment that they were supposed to be talking. For being the Ice Queen, Elsa was warm, and Cass let herself indulge in the pleasure of soft hair in her hands.

It was _just_ like her _infatuation_ with Raps, she decided. It would go away.

"Tomorrow, we have the ambassador from the Southern Isles in the morning, a dedication at noon, and …" Elsa gestured towards a book on the table. Magic lifted it up on a winter breeze and brought it over. She opened it in her lap and Cassandra peered over her shoulder.

"Lunch with Anna after the dedication, but that's something we usually do anyway."

Cassandra nodded, "Did you write this out yourself?"

"Yes."

"Your handwriting is lovely. It looks like you're free after two. I'd like to spend an hour showing you how to defend yourself."

Elsa's face flushed, "Thanks. And I know how to defend myself. I've got magic, remember? And guards."

"And me," Cass added. "But what if something took your magic away? What if the guards weren't close enough and I was incapacitated?"

It had happened more than once with Rapunzel. She'd trusted Eugene to protect her, but he wasn't here and Cass didn't know what Anna or Kristoff were capable of yet. Come to think of it, she should teach the Princess too. There was the line of succession to think about.

"Okay, that sounds fair." Elsa had never thought of picking up a weapon. Her go-to defense had generally been to avoid people and conflict. And with control of her powers she'd thought it would be a simple matter to protect her kingdom and the people she loved. But Cassandra had a point. It was Elsa's duty to do everything in her power for her people.

Damn right she had a point. Cass felt satisfied with that answer. She'd finished with Elsa's hair, but gave it a few more strokes than strictly necessary. "Is there anything I can get you?" She needed to learn Elsa's habits. For starters she'd talk to the other people in the castle, the staff and Anna in particular. The staff always knew what was going on and they tended to be very observant. Ideally, Cass would be able to take care of Elsa's needs before she even asked her anything.

"I think I'll be fine tonight," Elsa said. She stood, and moved behind the divider to change. Cassandra had half turned to go when Elsa asked, "Do you want to stay for a little while? We could talk. I know you probably want to settle in still, but I'd like to get to know you."

To her credit, Cass looked composed and not at all like Elsa's request had put her in great distress by the time the Queen had come out from behind the divider. On the other hand, she found it suddenly hard to breathe. Functionally, Elsa's nightgown wasn't much different from Rapunzel's, but it was thinner despite the cooler climate and Elsa was, in a word, _curvier_.

This was going to be a problem and it was worse than the trick with the magic for some reason. Cassandra had expected Elsa to be beautiful, but hadn't planned on how much it affected her. She felt the strangest conflict between _relief_ and _guilt_. The guilt was annoying - it wasn't like she and Rapunzel had been together, so why should she feel guilty about being attracted to someone else? Rapunzel had never even found out about her feelings.

Realizing she was staring, Cass glanced at a clock, "Uhm. Sure thing, El."

Elsa raised her eyebrow, but didn't object to Cass shortening her name. Maybe she liked it. A little excitedly (though much more low-key than her sister), Elsa gestured to a seat. "Sit! Lets talk. How did you end up serving Rapunzel?"

Taking the seat and leaning back, Cass answered smoothly, "Long story short, the Queen recommended me. She realized I was kind of miserable and Rapunzel was kind of lonely, and thought that we'd get along, with the added benefit of my basically being her personal body guard which was almost as good as being an actual guard."

She'd been so upset at first, thinking she'd been doomed to never pursue her own dreams. It had mostly worked out in the end.

"You wanted to be a guard?"

Cass nodded. "I didn't exactly have a normal childhood. The captain of the Guard adopted me when I was young, and while I learned everything about court and castle life, I was always a little apart from everyone else, and I always wanted to follow in my father's footsteps."

"I see…" Elsa got a thoughtful look on her face, and she was developing an idea. "That sounds amazing. And I kind of understand that being apart from everyone else thing. I was so afraid of my powers that I locked myself away from everyone so I wouldn't hurt them."

"A self-imposed exile," Cassandra remarked. Something else she needed to discreetly ask around about.

"Pretty much. Why come to Arendelle?"

She'd been preparing herself for that question, but tried the same answer she'd given Anna, "I needed a change."

"A change from what?" Elsa asked.

"A little bit of everything."

Elsa raised her eyebrow and Cassandra was beginning to find that habit endearing, though Elsa's persistence was irritating.

"It's personal. I felt like I was being stifled there. Never able to really be true to myself." It wasn't a total lie. There were parts of herself that she wasn't comfortable sharing with anyone, even Raps, but Cass still felt a little uncomfortable saying it. "I mean, not as much as I'd want to be."

"Do you think you'll be able to do that here?" Elsa's eyes were a piercing blue, and Cassandra fought the urge to shrink in her seat.

"I don't know. I hope so." What did she even want? To be happy, doing a job she enjoyed that was exciting. To still go on adventures. To protect and defend. And maybe, just maybe, meet a pretty girl who loved her. One who she'd not lost the chance with before she'd even met her, at least. Eugene was the luckiest man on the planet, and even Cassandra had to acknowledge that he knew it and appreciated that fact.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you with that, Cassandra," Elsa promised. "I know we all will. We want you to feel welcome and at home."

Cass remained guarded, but allowed herself a glimmer of hope. "I should get to bed. Remember, tomorrow. Wear something comfortable and prepare yourself because you're going to be sore by the time I'm done with you."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Cassandra tried not to read more into Elsa's tone than was actually there.


	4. Training Day

"I don't think she's telling the full story," Anna said, voice muffled as she spoke through a mouthful. "Like I get the whole needing a change thing, but she's hiding something."

"If it was anything bad, I don't think we'd have gotten glowing recommendations from both Queen Ariana and Princess Rapunzel. Or the Captain of the Guard," Elsa pointed out. Where Anna shoveled food into her mouth, Elsa was more refined as she cut up her meal. "Everyone is allowed to have secrets, Anna. When she's willing to talk about it, we'll listen. Besides, I really like her."

"I know, I know, and I like her too. But how crazy is it that she's supposedly this expert in weapons? And she had like, a whole trunk of weapons. I know, I saw! It was like this wardrobe! She even showed me her favorite axe." Anna finally swallowed. "I think she likes me."

"I've never met anyone who doesn't love you." Hans didn't count.

Elsa set her fork down, and looked nervously down at the table. "She wants to teach me how to fight. It's kind of exciting and a little scary at the same time. Doesn't fighting imply losing control?"

"You'd think it would be all _about_ control." Anna picked up her knife and swung it around. "Parrying and striking and watching your opponent and then cutting them down with precision and rwar!"

Elsa laughed, "You might be right…I just hope I have something to wear that I don't mind getting dirty."

"Come on, lets raid your closet." Anna bounced to her feet and ran around the table. Grabbing Elsa's hand, she pulled her up and dragged her out of the dining room and up the stairs to her room. They both laughed the whole way, and Anna had never felt happier than moments like these.

"All right, lets see what I have." Elsa pulled open the closet door, revealing a row of gowns and dresses, none of which were even casual, let alone suitable for physical training.

"I know you have a certain _style_ ," Anna said. "But we've really _got_ to diversify your wardrobe. Come on, I think I've got something that'll fit you."

"I didn't exactly go outside much," Elsa protested.

"You don't even have _riding_ gear." Anna was already making plans in her head. With Cassandra's help she was sure they could put in some orders for riding outfits and other such clothing.

"I could magic something up," Elsa suggested. "I'd still need something as a base."

"I've got pants and a vest." Now in Anna's room, Elsa watched as her sister tore through her closet like a dervish. She ended up with several articles of clothing hanging off of her arms before Anna settled on something. "Ahah!"

She held up a green tunic with a matching pair of trousers. "What do you think?"

"It's kind of… boring."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Stop complaining and put it on. It's not like you're dressing up for a date."

"What do you know about dates, your boyfriend was raised in the woods."

"Be that as it may, I've read all kinds of romantic stories." Anna planted her hands on her hips. "So if you ever meet someone, I can totally give you advice!"

She held up her hands, "Wait, _have_ you met someone?"

"No!" Elsa threw the extraneous clothing at Anna, before moving to change into the shirt and trousers. "And I don't plan to. I'm happy with the way things are."

"Uh huh." Anna cocked her hip and folded her arms, "You've never thought about what it would be like?"

"Once or twice." Both articles of clothing were a bit too tight, but they'd do. Smirking, she stepped past Anna, "But you've got Kristoff, so heirs are handled."

"Yeah, I mean that's not gonna be a - wait _what_?"

"I read a lot of the same books you did." Elsa looked at her over her shoulders. "They usually filled me with dread and anxiety at the idea of meeting some man and dedicating my life to him. Or even just letting him touch me. Most of those stories did nothing for me. Like they didn't fit my life or who I was."

"And here was me, daydreaming about being whisked off my feet and swept away in an epic romance." Anna sighed. "That one got us in all kinds of trouble."

Elsa slowed, and put her arm around Anna, "I think it all worked out in the end."

She leaned into Elsa's embrace, beaming. "Yeah, it did! I guess Hans was useful for something. Too bad he could float."

"You're not getting that statue," Elsa replied automatically.

"Damn it!" Anna thwapped Elsa on the arm. "Wait, which story did you actually like?"

"I'll tell you later. I don't want to be late."

Anna gave Elsa a suspicious look, but walked with her out to the courtyard. Cassandra was already waiting for them, wearing a similar trousers and tunic to the one she'd been wearing just yesterday.

She stepped back to give them some room, perching on the edge of the fountain to watch. She liked Cass, secrets aside, and liked how quickly Elsa had opened up around her. Honestly, as much as she wanted to monopolize Elsa forever, she knew it was better if they both had more friends. And Anna was eager to pull Cass into their growing little family.

"We need to get you proper training clothing," Cassandra said, eyeing Elsa up and down.

Elsa flushed, "I haven't touched it up yet."

"Don't need anything flashy."

"I at least need a cape."

"No capes," Anna interjected.

"First we teach you the basics, _then_ we can teach you to fight in what you normally wear." Cass moved behind Elsa, helping her stance. Her voice was as soft as the touch of her fingers to Elsa's elbow, "Like this, El.

"Got it," Elsa breathed.

Anna leaned her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand, watching as Cassandra walked Elsa through the very basics. There was a lot of positioning involved, and more than once Elsa ended up in an undignified sprawl on the ground. Cassandra remained patient throughout, always helping her up when she fell. Anna wondered if Elsa sometimes messed up on purpose, which only fed thoughts that had been percolating since she'd first seen the expression on Elsa's face when she'd met Cass. There were _suspicions_ but nothing concrete and honestly how did you even ask you sister about that?

"Okay, I think that's enough for today, your majesty." Cassandra held her hand out for Elsa, who'd once again ended up sprawled out.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is not to make an ice slick at your feet?" Elsa took the hand and then yanked, causing Cass to land on top of her.

"You managed to knock me down once. That's not-" Cass caught herself, hands on either side of Elsa's shoulders and her body entirely too firm beneath her. Her voice was tight, "Make that twice."

"Why don't we try it my way," Elsa suggested, her brow rising.

Cass stared for a moment, before scrambling to her feet. "Yeah, sure."

Elsa walked towards the fountain, then gestured at Cass. "Come get me."

"You're asking for it." Spinning her practice sword around, Cassandra darted forward. Ice sprouted along the ground and she found herself skidding. She quickly adjusted, using the ground like an ice rink to pick up speed and spin around Elsa. She jumped and twirled out of the way of icy blasts. "You've got to predict my movements! And you have to remain calm!"

"Uh…" Anna watched with growing concern as Elsa tried to keep up with Cassandra, who seemed to be everywhere and yet nowhere. She could see the growing panic in Elsa's eyes, "Guys.. guys maybe we should stop!"

"I'm fine!" Elsa called out. She took slow, deep breaths and was very much not fine, cold panic rising up her spine. She felt sudden pressure at her back, and a wooden blade at her throat.

"Got you."

Anna rushed over. "Okay! Yeah! Good! Lets take a break!" She took Elsa's hand, feeling her shake through the contact.

Cass dropped the sword, putting her hands on Elsa's shoulder. "... You all right?"

Elsa looked at her sister, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. That was overwhelming and it… kind of brought back a really bad memory."

"I guess maybe you're not ready to defend yourself," Anna guessed.

"I just… I didn't want to hurt anyone, and Cass, you moved so _fast_."

"If you're really in trouble, or Anna is, you might have to hurt the person doing it," Cassandra said. "But I'm sorry, I had no idea it would affect you like this."

She started to back away, but Elsa grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "You couldn't have known. _I_ didn't even know."

"Lets go inside," Anna suggested, her eyes darting to Elsa's hand on Cass's wrist, then back to her sister. "I'll make us some hot cocoa."


	5. Fragments of Memories

Elsa's hands had finally stopped shaking by the time she had the cup of cocoa between them. Her mind ran over the training. The sparring had been fun, even if Cass had correctly predicted how sore she'd make her. She found she'd really liked the way Cass taught, and the way she leaned in close to adjust her stance.

The attempt to show off her magic hadn't gone at all according to plan. Cassandra was good, very good, and Elsa had quickly discovered she had a hard time predicting her movements and catching her. To make matters worse, she'd been terrified of hurting her or missing somehow and hitting Anna. She didn't even know what had possessed her to suggest such an idea, except she wanted to impress Cass. She watched her blow on her drink.

"Is it too hot?"

"A little," Cass said.

Elsa smiled and pointed at Cass's cup. "Try now."

Cass blinked, then took a sip. "That's better, thanks."

"At least that still works."

"Elsa, don't be silly." Anna put her hand on her arm. "You can control your powers, but that doesn't mean you can't have a freak out once in awhile."

"Remember how I told you about the day you got hurt? It started to feel like that." Elsa caught the questioning look on Cass's face and explained, "We were just kids, playing. I was making snow drifts for Anna and she started going too fast for me to keep up. I panic and slipped and fell, and hit her in the head with my magic. She could have died. After that, the trolls took away her memory of my magic, and I locked myself away for years."

"... I get it." Cass put her hand on Elsa's other arm. "You don't have to feel ashamed. Traumatic memories stick with us, and sometimes they come back when you least expect it. All you can do is deal with it when it happens, and let your family be there to have your back."

"What she said!" Anna held up her hand, looking at Cass expectantly until Cass gave her a high five.

"It's just something I need to practice," Elsa decided. She winked at Cass, "I'll pencil it in along with your lessons."

Cassandra seemed to consider something before she asked, "What else can you do with your powers, Elsa?"

Elsa glanced at Anna, then back to Cassandra. "Remind me to show you my ice palace. But for now…"

She held her hand, palm up, a swirl of magic and frost dancing over her hand. When it was done, there was a little sculpture of Cassandra triumphant, sword held aloft. "Things like this."

"It's… wow." Cass leaned in close, staring at the small sculpture. It was unbelievably accurate, as though she'd been frozen in place. "That's really something else."

The awe on Cass's face more than made up for the disaster in the courtyard, and Elsa set the sculpture on the table before resting her hands in her lap. "It won't melt, ever. Or at least as long as I'm alive, I think."

"Which will be for a very, very, very long time," Anna said. She bounced to her feet, "I need to check on Kristoff, I'll see you guys later!"

"I'm going to have to agree with sunshine there. I think I'd like you being around for a nice long time." A smile crossed Cassandra's face, "You know, for job security."

"Not in this for my charm?" Elsa found herself asking.

"It's a…. consideration." Cassandra got up, "If you'll excuse me?"

Elsa frowned, reluctant to let her go but also not wanting to keep Cassandra if she really wanted to leave. "Of course."

"Thanks." Cassandra beat a hasty retreat, leaving Elsa to wonder if she'd upset her.

She let the thought percolate for the rest of the day, and by the time evening fell she'd decided she should at least check on Cassandra before bed. Walking up to the door, she knocked lightly, then clasped her hands in front of her and waited.

After a few moments, the door swung open. "Everything all right, El?"

"I'm fine. I just wanted to…" Check on you? Elsa realized she didn't have a good excuse to simply asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine…?" Cass peered at her, "... do you want to come in?"

"Please? Anna was talking about your weapons."

That seemed to make Cass perk up, and she quickly ushered Elsa in, "I think she's having an affair with my axe."

"Anna? Really?"

Cass nodded, and laughed. Elsa thought that was a pleasant sound that needed to happen more often.

"So can I see your axe?"

"You can see anything you want." Cass walked over to the armoire as Elsa's mouth opened and closed several times. Thank god she didn't notice, and Elsa hoped she didn't notice the heat in her cheek either.

"That's a lot of weapons," she said, staring at Cassandra's collection. Flails and swords, axes and maces, and other more exotic weapons the likes of which she'd never heard of.

"I can't even tell you how I started this collection. It just kind of built up over time." Cassandra ran her hand down the shaft of a halberd. "I've taught myself how to fight with most of them. You never know when you'll be in a situation where you're handling something you don't normally use."

"A master of the court and weapons both. How'd I get so lucky?" Elsa stepped up beside Cass, and noticed a painting at the back. she reached out, brushing her fingers at one corner. "Oh this is beautiful. That must be Rapunzel."

"Yeah," Cass whispered. She didn't look at the painting. "She painted it and snuck it in there. She's always doing things like that. Raps never thinks of herself before she thinks of everyone else. Even when she _needs_ to think about herself."

"You must have meant a lot to her."

Throat bobbing, Cassandra shrugged, stepping back and closing the armoire. "Yeah. She has a big heart. I'm really tired, your majesty. I'm going to go to sleep. Will you be okay?"

Noticing that Cassandra wasn't looking at her, Elsa put her hand on her back, "I'll be okay. What about you?"

"It's kind of sinking in." Cassandra moved out of Elsa's reach, and leaned on the windowsill looking out towards the bay. "She's my only friend and we had to go our separate ways. How do you recover from that? How different will we both be when we see each other again?"

"When … someone means a lot to you," Elsa said, walking to the window and standing behind Cassandra. She put her hands on her shoulders and squeezed. "It doesn't matter how much time or distance passes. It might be a _little_ awkward the next time you talk, but that doesn't mean you won't still be friends. It doesn't mean she won't still love you."

Cassandra laughed, a choked sound different from her earlier one. "Yeah. Sure." She ducked under Elsa's arms and moved to the door. "I think I changed my mind, I'm going for a walk."

"Cassandra."

She stopped.

"You should write to her, every week. Let her know how you are, what's going on in your life. I'm sure she'll be happy to return the favor."

"I might. She probably wouldn't forgive me if I never wrote." Cassandra sighed, then pushed open the door, all but running out of the room.

Elsa leaned back against the windowsill, and chewed on her lip, deep in thought.


	6. Queen's Gambit

They fell into a routine. Cass would be up first, and by the time Elsa rose an hour or so later, breakfast was well on the way to being ready and Cass had carefully gone through Elsa's schedule to make it as efficient as possible. It quickly became clear that Elsa valued time with her sister, as well as time alone, and Cassandra tried to accommodate those needs and balance them with the needs of the Kingdom.

One thing she'd learned with Rapunzel was that focusing entirely on work and matters of state tended to backfire, and Cass wasn't going to make the same mistakes twice, as tempting as it was to keep Elsa busy. Elsa had the education in matters of court that Rapunzel had lacked and it sometimes left Cass with large gaps in her day with nothing to plan around.

Even nosing herself into guard affairs still left Cass a lot of time to think. About Rapunzel, about _Elsa_ , and about herself. What she should have been doing was writing Rapunzel but as always she got half way through with a letter and threw it in the trash.

Tonight was one of those nights, where the words weren't coming. Frustrated, Cassandra set down her quill and left her room. She nearly ran into Elsa, "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

Smiling warmly, Elsa shook her head. "It's okay. Is everything all right?"

Cass nodded. "Just… can't really sleep."

"Neither can I, lately. There's been a lot on my mind." Elsa started for her room, "Come with me, maybe we can exhaust each other."

"I'm sorry what?" Cassandra stared at Elsa's back, then quickly caught up. "I mean, what do you have in mind?"

On the plus side, Cassandra had completely forgotten Rapunzel existed for the moment, as she fell into the steps of helping Elsa get ready for bed.

"Just talking, maybe playing some games." Elsa took a seat on her bed, looking up at Cassandra. "If your mind is anything like mine, it keeps you awake when you should be sleeping."

If Elsa's mind was anything like Cass's right now, talking wasn't exactly the first thing on it. But she gave herself a mental shake and nodded, "Yeah, there are nights where I'm already preparing the next day when I should be sleeping. So I just lay there, staring at the ceiling."

"Tonight was already looking a bit like that for me."

"That state dinner?"

Elsa nodded. "Not my first state dinner, but I always get a little anxious. Will I say the wrong thing? Do the wrong thing? Will Anna put her foot in her mouth again?"

That _again_ implied there'd been other times where Anna had somehow messed up a state dinner and yet Cassandra wasn't all that surprised. She was an only child and so she didn't think she could relate, but it somehow made her think of Eugene. "All that on top of just being around people?"

"Yes. It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be, but I'm usually pretty drained by the end of it."

"So what do you want to do?" Cass asked, and the look Elsa gave her made her stomach perform acrobatics. It couldn't possibly mean anything, so she shoved that thought aside.

"Do you play chess?"

"I taught Raps how to play," Cass boasted. "She got pretty good at it, but I was still the best player in Corona."

"Bring a board over," Elsa said, scooting back in her bed to give Cass some room.

Cass found one in the closet and brought it over. She guessed this would be a nice casual game, if they weren't setting it up on a table. It was odd to see the normally pristine and proper Queen sitting cross legged on the bed. Other than maybe Anna, and Kristoff, how many people knew this side of Elsa?

 _Cass, don't read too much into that. That's how you got in trouble with Raps._

Elsa's chess set was interesting. Instead of white and black, the pieces were red and blue. Like ice and fire. "I really think you've got a theme going here."

"This isn't even my good set. We have one that's made from crystal. But my mother and I always played with this one."

If Cass listened closely, she could almost hear some pain in Elsa's voice. So she smiled at her. "Did your mother teach you?"

"Yes. She taught both of us," Elsa's eyes brightened as she reached to move a piece. "She was a _grandmaster_."

Cass lost that first game _embarrassingly_ quickly. The second game she held her own longer, until the straps on Elsa's nightgown slipped down one shoulder and Cass started to make rookie mistakes. She really needed to focus and take this seriously. Elsa was taught by a Grandmaster. It was something Cass should have known about too, from her research on Elsa and her family. Grandmaster women were a rarity. Chess was so often seen as a man's game.

But her father had taught her when she'd asked. With the benefit of hindsight she knew he'd tried to give her the things she wanted, and the things she needed. Sometimes she'd chafed and been angry and frustrated, but looking back now, he'd _tried_. And even after he'd found out something about her that only two other people on Earth knew, he'd still loved her. He'd even given her responsibility on occasion. It hadn't just been Rapunzel and the Queen who'd sent a letter extolling her virtues to Arendelle.

She pushed that thought away too. Getting emotional would make it harder for her to beat Elsa. And she was going to beat Elsa.

They played six more games, drawing once, with Elsa edging Cass out three to two if one didn't count those first two disasters. It was late by the time Cass put the set away, but as tired as she was she still felt a little wired. That had been a challenge and she'd _relished_ it. She wondered if Anna was as good, or if she hadn't picked it up as well as Elsa had.

Elsa grabbed her hand, pulling her back to the bed. Cass sat next to her, and found herself holding her breath when Elsa leaned against her. Forcing the air out, she asked, "I'm not taking up too much of your time, am I?"

"If you were, I'd tell you," Elsa replied.

"Okay. Good. Great." Cass wondered if Elsa had any idea what this was doing to her, flashing back to all the times Rapunzel had inadvertently made her need to jump in the ocean. Like that time she'd needed someone in her bed after a series of nightmares. That had been fine. Perfectly. Fine.

"Do you mind staying until morning?"

Cass turned her head towards Elsa, taking a moment to calm her pulse before replying to the apparent _mind reader_ next to her, "Of course not. May I ask why?"

"With our guests for the dinner tomorrow staying at the castle, I think I'd feel a little better having you near." Elsa lifted her head, "Besides, it's a little warm tonight, I'm sure you won't mind sleeping next to an ice cube."

If anything, Elsa was a lot warmer than Cass had expected. "You don't seem that cold right now, El."

"I can fix that."

A shiver ran through Cass as Elsa became noticeably cooler. "Cool trick."

Elsa laughed. "Never too hot in the summer, never too cold in the winter."

Biting back an entirely inappropriate reply, Cass instead asked, "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I'm having the time of my life." Elsa pulled away, leaning back against her pillow and folding her hands over her stomach as she looked up at Cass.

Cass wanted nothing more in that moment then to lean in, brush Elsa's hair aside and taste her lips. How had she gotten here again? When had this happened? Why was she vexed with attraction to beautiful and unobtainable _straight_ women who didn't realize they were flirting with her?

"You know, I haven't had a sleepover since I was eight," Elsa said, grinning at Cass.

"You could've asked Anna you know."

"I've thought about it. And we really should." Elsa's eyes moved across Cassandra's face, "But this is better, I think. "

"Is it?" Cass asked.

"Yes." There was longing in Elsa's voice, "I consider you a friend."

Now that was a familiar refrain, and Cass blew out the lamp so the shadows could hide her expression. It wasn't that friends were a bad thing, or that the sentiment didn't mean anything to her (the opposite, in fact, knowing how lonely Elsa was). It just reminded her where her place was and that she shouldn't let herself indulge in the thoughts she'd been having. It was dangerous to dream. "Lucky for you, I've got a lot of experience with sleep overs."


	7. A Long Night

Elsa couldn't sleep. Cassandra was soft and warm next to her and her mind kept _going_ places. Places that weren't appropriate. She was Cassandra's _boss_. She shouldn't be feeling these things so she had to hide them.

She was used to concealing her feelings, but it hurt more than she thought it should. It wasn't unheard of in Arendelle. Oaken and his husband were well loved by the populace and she'd always figured that it was her powers that set her apart more than her desires. At least, that's how she'd felt until she'd actually met someone she _desired_.

Like many fears, it was probably irrational.

So she lay there, wrestling with herself until Cassandra shifted against her and slid her arm around her waist.

She lay still for a moment, before rolling to face Cass, who shifted again and then ran her hand up Elsa's back. After another moment, Cass's fingers started tracing sleepy little circles, and Elsa felt herself melt a little. She moved her own fingers across the nape of Cass's neck, and then lightly down her spine. Cass's breath hitched and Elsa suddenly felt like her entire body was on fire. She lowered her core temperature in an effort to put that fire out, forgetting all about her fears in the moment.

Cass's fingers were like little trails of electricity and Elsa closed her eyes. She could maybe drift off easily enough like this, except every so often Cass's fingers would hit a spot just right, making Elsa gasp or whimper and stoking that fire all over again.

Eventually, Cass's hands slowed and stopped. Elsa breathed a heavy sigh, letting her touch-starved self indulge in Cass's closeness before carefully crawling out of bed. Once standing, she dropped her body temperature twenty degrees and moved to sit at her desk, where she rested her face in her hands.

There was no way she was going to be able to sleep like this, and nothing in her experience had ever prepared her. She couldn't ask her sister because Anna would hound her relentlessly. Kristoff might have some advice, but for some reason that was an awkward thought, especially if Sven wanted to give her advice too. She wasn't desperate enough for a reindeer.

After a few moment's thought, she used her magic to dress, then quietly opened the window. It wasn't exactly a quick drop to the ground, though Arendelle's castle wasn't as tall as Corona's. She formed an ice sled and skidded down it to the courtyard below. While she couldn't make it to her fortress of solitude Ice Palace and back before Cass woke up, she did need some air.

A brisk walk would clear her head and give her some perspective on this whole Cass situation. If nothing else, Elsa decided, she needed to tone things down. Asking her to stay the night may have been a bridge too far for both their sakes. She rubbed her hand over her chest and sighed, suddenly feeling _awful_.

She would have been fine with Cass saying no, but maybe Cass hadn't realized that, or felt like she _couldn't_ say no. Elsa started second guessing every word and action since Cass had arrived. Had she overstepped bounds? What _were_ they? Did they need to talk about this? What if talking about it made it worse? What if Cass was-

"Elsa?"

Her anxiety had been spiraling out of control, but the sound of her name pulled her back, "Olaf! What are you doing out at this hour?"

"I don't sleep."

"I…" Well she knew that but for the first time Elsa wondered what Olaf actually did when everyone was asleep. She nodded, taking a few breaths to calm herself down, "Of course. I meant what are you doing outside?"

"I like this time of night. Everyone is _asleep_ and having _dreams_ and it's _so_ quiet you can hear the stars."

"Hear the stars?" She walked over to Olaf and knelt next to him.

"Yeah!" Olaf took her hand and started to tug at her. "I wanna show you something. It's my secret place."

Olaf's secret place turned out to be in town, on the rooftop of the bakery. It wasn't all that secret, but they could see the fjord and bay stretching out before them, the moon hanging low over the water. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Olaf. It's a beautiful view."

"I like to sit here and think."

"What do you think about?"

"Everything! You and Anna, Sven, sword-lady, the socio-political impacts of the Napoleonic Wars." He nudged her, "You know, normal stuff."

Elsa opened her mouth and then closed it, before finally giving in and asking, "Why are you thinking about the Napoleonic Wars?"

"Cass likes that stuff! We talk about it _all_ the time. She was in the library reading some books and I asked her some questions." He was in the library a lot at night, but there weren't often other people there. And then there was the month he'd spent mapping the entire country and marking all the best treasure burying spots with Sven.

Certain that by 'some questions' Olaf had pestered Cass with hundreds and that the conversation had been mostly one-sided, Elsa couldn't help laughing. "I'm sure she enjoyed that. Is there anything else she liked reading?"

"Yeah, she had a storybook. Something about Knights."

"Good to know," Elsa murmured. There was one book in particular she loved, and she wondered if Cass would like it too. It was very personal and important to her, though. She didn't like the thought of Cass hating it. But now that she'd had the thought...

"Why?"

"Because now I know some things I can get her."

"Like for her birthday?"

"Something like that."

Olaf nodded, and wriggled his feet. "I really like her. She's nice."

"Me too," Elsa agreed.

"This is nice too."

"It is." Elsa leaned over and hugged him. He was the closest thing she'd ever have to a child, and she didn't appreciate that enough. "I'm sorry if I'm not around as much as you'd like. You're family too."

"It's okay. I know you're busy. You've got Queen stuff to do." He patted her arm.

"Still. What do you say about a day together soon? Just us."

His eyes welled up, and Elsa hugged him again. "I'll have Cass clear my schedule for a day. It can't be tomorrow, but maybe the day after. I promise."

They stayed there for another hour or so, Olaf doing most of the talking until Elsa felt tired enough to try sleeping. Letting Olaf 'escort' her back to the castle, Elsa climbed an ice ladder back to her room.

Cass was still sleeping, her back to the window. Elsa returned her clothing back to a nightgown, and climbed back in. Cass snuggled back against her, and Elsa wrapped her arm around her and held her from behind. While sleep came upon her quickly, her dreams proved to be … interesting.


	8. Broken Glass

The next several weeks were a blur. Daily lessons with the Queen, mornings and evenings engrossed in matters of state. Cass managed to avoid any further conversations about Rapunzel, and had written a dozen letters, none of which she'd had the courage to send. She found the simple act of staying busy helped to alleviate a lot of the pain. Curiously, she thought Elsa had been giving her the cold shoulder for a few days after their impromptu sleepover, but she thought it had just been her imagination.

Day to day, Arendelle and Corona weren't too different. They even shared many trading partners. Elsa's council was a little more controlling, and Cassandra had the pleasure of getting the occasional frustrated earful after a meeting. She liked some of the council though. The General was a tall, thin woman with a missing eye and dark skin. The Admiral was her twin sister, as wide as the galleon she commanded and twice as tough. Cass tried to strike up friendships with both.

Anna seemed to have half-adopted her into the family, taking her on outings into town or into the woods. She and Kristoff introduced her to the Trolls, and even after ten days she was still puzzling over some of the cryptic things they'd told her. _You can't lock your heart up and throw away the key. Love always finds a way._ Sure thing, she'd thought, as she metaphorically threw the key into the ocean and waved goodbye to it. It was _safer_ that way.

She did enjoy watching Elsa with her sister. While there was still some residual tension from the way they'd grown up, Elsa clearly doted on Anna and Cass wondered if they'd ever actually had a good talk about everything. She gathered that Elsa still felt rather guilty.

Above all, she looked forward to the times she got to spend with Elsa, particularly alone. She didn't feel any pressure from Elsa, who was willing to let Cass open up on her own terms. Sometimes they sat and read, or Elsa would read while Cass braided her hair. Very rarely, they'd have another sleepover, and Cass both hated and treasured those nights. If Elsa _had_ been giving her a cold shoulder before, she'd clearly abandoned the effort. Cass wasn't sure if that was good or bad or somewhere in between.

She loved those quiet, peaceful moments, even if she always kept a weapon near at hand. Because there was something else she'd learned in the process of discovering all she could about Elsa from the castle staff.

Arendelle had enemies. And not like the relatively friendly rivalries Corona had. These weren't prank wars. Arendelle had bitter enemies and far more recent and bloodier wars. Nations who were very much upset at the idea of such a powerful magic they couldn't control in the hands of a country they didn't particularly like.

Cass had to develop her contacts and networking from scratch, and until it was reliable, she kept herself a little more vigilant than normal. There were several upcoming events that might leave Elsa vulnerable, including a blessing ceremony on Saturday. With the Admiral at sea and the General visiting a neighboring kingdom, security was up to the guards - and Cass whether they let her or not.

A rhythmic knock drew her attention from yet another attempt to write a letter to Raps, and she gratefully got up to answer the door. Olaf greeted her, his thin, spindly arms wrapped around a book.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, Olaf. What's up?"

"Elsa wanted you to have this." He held the book up, and Cassandra took it from him.

It was thick, bound in leather. On the cover was a stylized drawing of a knight kneeling before a princess, besides a white horse. Cassandra chuckled. She couldn't remember how many stories like this she'd read, substituting herself in the knight's place. "It's a really beautiful book. I don't think I've read this one."

"That's great, what's it about?"

"Uh. I don't know, I haven't read it yet."

Olaf looked up at her expectantly.

"Olaf, I can't read it right now, and it'll take me more than a few days to get through it."

"Elsa wanted me to tell you something else," He said, swinging his arms.

"What did she say?"

"I forgot."

"Thanks, that's… helpful."

"You're very welcome!" Olaf peered at the cover. "So what's it about?"

Fluttering at the window saved Olaf from being throttled. Cass put the book down and jogged over, opening it. Her owl landed on her arm and flapped his wings a few times in greeting. "You're back quickly."

The owl lifted his leg, and she removed a message from it. "Looks like my networking is paying off. Lets see what they have to say…"

She unrolled the note, and started to read it. "Oh no. Olaf do you know what day it is?"

"Yeah, why?"

One of Cassandra's eyes twitched, "Eugene, I actually miss you. I mean … Is today Thursday or Friday?"

Why was she even asking him? Cass ran to her desk. She was _pretty_ sure it was Friday but she needed to make sure. "Friday. Bad. That's very bad."

Pausing only long enough to grab her sword, Cassandra sprinted out the door and down the hall. She flung Elsa's door open, "Elsa!"

The Queen was in, and the Queen was in the middle of rising out of the tub. She sat back down to cover her modesty, "What's wrong?"

If Cass was less of a professional she would have been rendered speechless. As it was, it took a moment before she could avert her eyes. She forced the words out, "I've reason to believe that there'll be an attempt on your life tomorrow. We need to cancel the-"

"No." Elsa lifted her head, dignified despite being half in a tub. "Everything will go through as planned, I'm not going to cancel this ceremony on a rumor."

There was a particularly interesting spot on the wall over Elsa's shoulder and Cassandra tried to focus on that, "It's not just a rumor."

She held up her hand, "Cass, I believe you. And I trust you and my guards to keep me safe."

Cass took a deep breath, let it out, and then nodded. "Okay. I'll review the security, but I think you should increase the number of guards."

"I accept your recommendation." Elsa started to get up again, then stopped. "Uhm. Can you get me my robe?"

"What? Oh. Yes." Cass set the sword besides the door, and grabbed the robe from the divider, bringing it over to Elsa. If she wasn't so concerned about possible security breaches she'd be barely functional right now. Small favors.

"Thanks." Elsa got out of the tub, and flicked her hand. All the water on her body and in her hair condensed into ice, which she then directed into the tub.

Cass put the robe on her, then ran her hands down her arms before she could stop herself. She backtracked three whole feet. "I should… " She pointed at the door. "Review security."

And write a letter, only not to Rapunzel. No (and she hated it), she needed Eugene's advice. Hell really had frozen over.

"Yes, thanks." Elsa pushed her hair back over her shoulders, looking like she wanted to say more.

When it was clear that nothing more was actually coming, Cass grabbed her sword and left the room. She couldn't get Elsa's expression out of her mind, which was only slightly better than seeing her in the tub every time she closed her eyes.

There was a little room near the guardhouse where they'd been planning some of the event, and she found it empty after letting herself in. That was fine, she thought better alone. She took a seat and pulled it up to the table, then rested her face in her hands.

"Well, Raps, I've gotten myself into something all right." Of course, she wasn't there to answer, but Cass knew Raps well enough to guess at the response. "And I know you'd tell me to follow my heart. But I couldn't there, and I sure can't now."

She could even hear Eugene's voice, _Hah! The Ice Monster, and the Ice Queen! This is so good that I've got nothing!_ She immediately second guessed any idea of asking him for advice.

As hard as it was to believe, she almost missed him. Reaching over, Cass started to rearrange some of the guard positions and add additional ones. She hesitated, then placed one representing herself next to Elsa. If whoever was planning this attack managed to get through all of these guards, they'd have to get through Cassandra to get to the Royal family..

For the next hour, she thought through every contingency and planned out multiple scenarios. She brought in the Guard Captain and they went through each one as well. He took her warning seriously, but warned Cass that they wouldn't be able to close the event to the public. The Queen wouldn't stand for it and Cass agreed it would tip off any potential assassin anyway.

Eventually, she had to sleep. As she trudged through the castle, she took a detour to the armory. She just wanted to see what they had. It was like any other armory, though there was a King's armor displayed in the center. She stood in front of it, trying to imagine Elsa wearing it. Silver and gold, ornately engraved with Arendelle's crest. It didn't seem like it would suit her, and there was scarcely anything _Arendelle_ about it besides the crest. But it would protect Elsa should war ever come. That was all that it really needed to do.

Leaving the armory and returning to the living quarters, she spied Elsa's door opened a crack, and had to fight the urge to spy or pry. Instead, she opened the door to her room, and got ready for bed. In the quiet of the night as she snuggled under the covers, she questioned every decision she'd made, both in Corona and Arendelle. She had no answers.

Sleep didn't come easily, her dreams ranging from highly erotic to bloody and surreal, so she was a little tired once she finally gave up on sleep and dragged herself downstairs to assist with the preparations. The guards were well placed so she was left with the more mundane task of arranging flowers. Cass wasn't going in blind, she'd read several books and spoke to some of the older people around about this ceremony. It was only the second time Elsa had performed it, and before last year it hadn't been celebrated since Elsa had been a child.

Everything was orange and yellow, the colors of autumn. Traditionally, as Winter approached, Arendelle would celebrate the closing of autumn, before things became bitterly cold. As it was, things were already pretty cold to Cassandra and she was aware that Anna hadn't been kidding about what awaited her. She wish she had mittens, but one couldn't hold a sword with mittens.

As the last of the guests filtered in, Cassandra took a position near Elsa, and next to Olaf. The queen was wearing a white gown with gold highlights that sparkled beneath the lantern lights. The smile she gave Cass made her insides melt. Cass tore her eyes away so she could scan the gathered crowd. Every entrance and exit was covered. If someone came through a window, a guard would be there to meet them. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to Elsa.

She didn't know what to expect. There was no official speech written anywhere, and only a few formal rituals, such as the lighting of a candle. She watched as Elsa did just that, and set the candle back on the center of a small round table.

Elsa turned to the crowd. Many commoners had been invited, a tradition for all events that Elsa had adopted not long after she'd taken the throne. Security concerns aside, Cassandra approved - a country was nothing without its people. While Arendelle seemed to have a generally less rambunctious populace than Corona, they were every bit as happy and content.

"Arendelle is no stranger to bad winters," Elsa said, clasping her hands in front of her. "Or cold summers."

She smiled as her joke drew a laugh from those gathered. "The days grow shorter and the nights longer. Soon we'll have our first snow. In the coming winter, we must remember those things we draw warmth from." Her eyes found her sister, "Our family and our friends. Our neighbors. Each other."

Cass folded her arms, a sudden sadness gripping her heart. Her friends, her _family_ were far away, and she didn't know if she'd ever truly find her place here in Arendelle. Pushing the melancholy down, she focused instead on searching for anything out of the ordinary as the Queen continued to offer words of comfort and strength. More than anything, she wanted to focus on that. Draw some strength and comfort for herself. Elsa was so different from Rapunzel, and yet the same where it counted in the size of her heart and the compassion therein.

One of the shadows looked _wrong_ , and Cassandra lifted her gaze to the skylights. The _skylights_! She cursed at herself as the one over the table shattered and a figure rappelled down a rope. Drawing her sword from within her skirts, Cassandra ran forward, shoving Elsa out of the way and deflecting a thrown dagger. She pushed Elsa behind her dress along a seam to free her legs. Another skylight shattered, and a hastily constructed wall of ice was the only thing that saved Cassandra from an arrow to the eye.

She recovered quickly. "We've got to get you out of here!"

"Get everyone out," Elsa ordered, ignoring Cassandra and rushing forward, creating more ice to give cover to her people. "Quickly!"

The room was already devolving into chaos as guards tried to guide people out while also dealing with the attackers. Cassandra counted three different assailants, barely parrying a strike at the Queen from behind. She kicked the man in the chest, spun around to block another sword. Her blade flashed, her only option defense in the face of not one nor two, but all three.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she spotted Anna lift Elsa bodily over her shoulder and cart her away, but Cass was too busy to really know for certain. One blow came high, and when she blocked that one she left herself open.

"Cassandra!" Elsa's voice rang in Cass's ears as pain lanced through her body, the world blurring as she fell back. She heard Olaf's voice, as if from a great distance, "Oh, would you look at that? She's been impaled!"


	9. Be True To Yourself

When Cass came to, it was dark outside. Candlelight flickered on the walls, and she flashed back to the ceremony and the attempt on the Queen's life. She tried to sit up, a sharp pain in her stomach forcing her to lay back down, "Elsa?"

"I'm all right."

Cassandra turned her head towards the voice, stunned into silence by virtue of struggling to breathe from her exertion. The way Elsa's face was lit by the candles had nothing to do with it, she told herself.

Taking Cass's hand, Elsa squeezed it. "You saved my life."

"Is everyone else okay? Anna?"

"My sister is fine, and the only casualty was one of the assassins. The rest are locked in the dungeons awaiting questioning."

"I'm sorry. Wish we'd gotten… further with your combat training." This whole thing was embarrassing. She'd let someone get in under her guard. Reflecting on the fight, she couldn't immediately think of anything else she could have done, but she still should have done better.

Her hand was suddenly devoid of Elsa's touch, and she stared down at it mournfully.

"It's not your fault. You did everything you could," Elsa assured her. She lifted her hand to Cassandra's forehead, brushing her fingers lightly across her skin. "I want you to rest."

"I'm not that tired," Cassandra complained. Cass and bed rest did not get along.

"I know. If I help you sit up will you promise to behave?" She looked into Cassandra's eyes, holding them firmly with her own.

Lost for a minute, Cass eventually just nodded.

"Okay, let's see if…" Elsa leaned forward, sliding an arm around Cass's back to very carefully help her sit up. Cass moved her own arms around Elsa, resting her face against her chest. She didn't let go immediately once she was sitting up, and Elsa seemed disinclined to let go either.

After a few moments, Cass pulled her head back and looked at Elsa. "What did the physician say?"

"There were a lot of stitches, and you'll have a pretty nifty scar." Elsa shifted into a sitting position on the edge of Cass's bed, leaving her hand resting on Cass's leg.

Cass stared at the hand, then back at Elsa. Her throat bobbed, "That's all?"

Elsa nodded. "Lots of bed rest is prescribed. It'll give you a chance to read the book I lent you. Did Olaf tell you what I wanted him to tell you?"

"He said he forgot," Cassandra replied, sounding a little distracted.

"Of course," Elsa laughed. She spotted the book on the end table and reached for it. She trailed her fingers down the cover. "It's one of my favorite books. It helped me through times in my life where I was forced to hide who I truly was. Which was _most_ of my childhood and adult life."

"I might know a thing or two about hiding who I am." Cassandra looked at the book, unsure what Elsa meant. "I used to read a lot of these stories, put myself in as the knight."

"I liked being the princess," Elsa said. "Especially in this one. She has a bigger role than just a damsel to be rescued."

"My favorite kind of princess," Cassandra said, not feeling even a trace of irony. Rapunzel was very much that kind of princess. What she mostly needed protecting from was her naïveté. Which was part of what made Rapunzel literal sunshine and so special. So it had been a delicate balancing act.

Cass opened the book, skimming over the first few paragraphs.

"From an early age, Nuriya wanted to be a knight, and to rescue a princess. She would teach herself to sword fight, watching the city guards and swinging a wooden sword she'd stolen from one of the boys." Her voice caught in her throat, and she closed the book, looking away from Elsa and out the window.

"Cassandra?"

At Elsa's gentle prompting, she looked at her, eyes watery and in too much pain to keep her emotions to herself. "My father adopted me when I was six. He was already the Captain of the Guard and I'd spend _hours_ watching him and the other guards train. I wanted to be like him _so_ much. But he'd adopted a _girl_. And girls weren't allowed to train to be guards, even if I think he liked my attitude or else I wouldn't have gotten away with half the things I did. Eventually he let me train for real, after all. But it might have been easier if I'd been a boy."

She shook her head. Knowing what she knew now she wouldn't trade it for the world. "I wish I'd had this story growing up, and I've only read the first two sentences. It would have meant the world to me."

"I can leave you to it."

Reaching out, Cass grabbed Elsa's hand before she could stand. The motion wrenched her stomach and she hissed, "El, wait…"

"Be careful," Elsa chided, but she settled back down, turning her hand around in Cassandra's and rubbing her thumb across her knuckles.

It was such a simple action but Cass felt simultaneously like she was floating and also about to die. Yet it gave her the motivation to talk, "You've… talked about being true to yourself, about hiding who you were for so long. And I understand, I've been there."

Maybe it was the dizziness and the pain and how vulnerable she felt, but she tried to get it all out in a rush, before she could think better of it. "And not just…"

She gestured at the book about a Lady Knight and her Princess. "But about who I really am."

"Are you secretly Duke Weselton, come to ply me for my secrets?"

"I _really_ wish you hadn't phrased it that way," Cassandra breathed. She offered Elsa a tired smile. "I guess you could say I wasn't born a girl. Or maybe in some ways I was, it just took me awhile to figure it out. When I was at the orphanage, I tried on a lot of dresses. They fit right, they felt right. I still wanted to wear trousers and hit people with swords, but I'd look at myself in the mirror and see Cassandra, not who I'd been before. So when my dad came looking for a child, he saw me, Cassandra, and I left the old me behind. And despite a lot of things, I've had a happy life because of it."

All of that at six years old. When Elsa was six, she'd been just learning to make snowmen with her magic for the first time, but thoughts of who she was otherwise hadn't even occurred to her. _Those_ questions had been asked later, long after she'd cut herself off from the world and cracked open that book that would have meant everything to Cass.

Cassandra stared at her anxiously, her hand shaking in Elsa's and her other hand gripping the book tightly. Elsa leaned in, wrapping her other arm around her and pulling her into a careful hug. Cassandra's throat hitched and she leaned into it, face pressed against Elsa's throat as she choked back a sob.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Elsa whispered. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you."

It felt good, not feeling alone. Cass nearly asked Elsa to stay, but it wasn't appropriate, no matter how comforting her presence was. Instead, once she felt composed, she leaned back, "I don't know. I guess… I thought if anyone would understand, it's you."

Elsa pulled away, stopping only to press warm, soft lips against Cass's cheek. She stood, "I'll let you rest."

"Can you stay?" Cassandra's mouth betrayed her. When she'd been sick, she'd discovered that what she'd wanted from Rapunzel wasn't to be left alone (or any of the things Rapunzel had done to try to make her feel better for that matter), but for Rapunzel to simply stay close, just for a little while. A wish that simply couldn't come true. "Just until I finish the first chapter."

"Of course, Cassandra."


	10. Matchmaker

Elsa quietly closed Cassandra's door, and headed for her chambers, wiping a tear from her cheek. She wondered if Cass had ever shared that with anyone else. Though she tried to hide it, Elsa knew Cass had had feelings for Rapunzel. And perhaps she still did. If there was anyone else in the world she'd tell, it would be her.

When she entered her chambers, she was so distracted that she nearly had a heart attack when a voice spoke from the darkness.

"Hello, sister," Anna said, leaning forward to light the lantern next to the chair she was reclining in and cast herself in the warm orange glow.

"Anna… what?" Had she been waiting there all evening?

Anna steepled her fingers together, "I came looking for you an hour ago, only to find you weren't here. Then I heard your voice from Cass's room."

She leaned forward again. "Soooo did you finally tell her?"

Laughing off her nerves, Elsa waved her hand. "Tell her what? I was just checking on her."

"You stayed there all evening, didn't you, while she was unconscious. I know, Elsa. I've got _eyes_. And I know what book you gave her." And she knew that the book was important to Elsa and while she suspected _why_ , she wanted Elsa to tell her. To _trust_ her enough to tell her.

Exhaling, Anna tapped her fingers together, then bounced to her feet. "Listen. You can tell me _anything_. And I'll always love you, you know? So you can tell me _anything_."

In the face of Anna's pleading expression, Elsa knew she was doomed. She removed her robe, hanging it over her divider. "Okay." She looked down at her hands, and rubbed her right thumb over the opposite palm. She turned back to her sister, sighing before bursting into a huge smile. "I really like Cassandra. She's smart, and witty, so strong and so, _so_ beautiful."

Anna bounced in place, swinging her hands in front of her in excitement. "I knew it! You totally dig girls!"

"Anna…how?"

She rolled her eyes. "Every time they mentioned heirs you pointed at me, which is kind of like, really evil honestly but also totally okay since I do want kids. I used to want, like 50, but after Hans, I don't know, we'd probably have 10 Hans and that would just be, really bad, so 2 is fine. Maybe five. As long as none of them are Hans. And it's not like you haven't joked about that yourself too."

Not wanting to get into it, Elsa shrugged and changed the subject, "Speaking of, when's the wedding?"

Narrowing her eyes, Anna held up her finger, "Nuh uh. No deflecting. Did you tell Cass how you feel or not?"

From the look on Elsa's face, Anna correctly deduced the answer. "Oh my god. You've been flirting with her relentlessly since-"

"I have not!"

" _Relentlessly since she arrived_ ," Anna continued, undeterred. "You can't tell me that she hasn't noticed."

When Elsa didn't immediately answer then either , Anna's eyes widened. "How can one woman be so oblivious?"

"I don't know, but the way she responded to that book tells me we share more similarities than differences."

"Perfect." Coming over to her sister, Anna grabbed her by the shoulders. "So here's the plan, we'll strip you down and tie you to her bed and-"

" _Really_ , Anna?"

"... wow I think you just turned me into an icicle with that look." Anna let go. "Plan B then."

Cautiously, Elsa asked, "What's Plan B?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"Anna…"

"Just let me help, please? I promise I won't do anything too embarrassing." Anna cocked her fingers at Elsa, "Besides, until we figure out where those assassins came from there's not going to be much else to keep me occupied. Unless you want me swinging from the chandelier…Wow, that sounds _fun!_ "

"Elsa's in love with Cass?"

"Yes, duh, keep up."

Kristoff rubbed his nose. "Why doesn't she just tell her?"

"Because it doesn't _work_ that way," Anna insisted.

"Well it should, right Sven? _Right Kristoff_."

He looked smugly at his girlfriend. "See?"

"It should, but it doesn't. And Cassandra isn't getting any hints." Anna spun around, and then leaned on the windowsill.

"Can a Queen even court a servant?"

"She's the Queen, she can do what she wants!" Anna tapped her chin, then snapped her fingers, "Cass probably thinks she doesn't stand a chance!"

"And we know that Cass is into your sister how?"

"And here I thought you were raised by _love_ experts." Giving him a smug look, Anna added, "She gets this look on her face, a little distant but smiley and stares at Elsa a lot."

Kristoff wasn't exactly skeptical, but he did want to make sure that things looked exactly how they were before they tried to do anything. "That could mean anything."

Anna took Krisoff's hands, "You in or out?"

Knowing he didn't have much of a choice, Kristoff relented, "Okay, I'm in."

Squealing, Anna let go and clapped her hands, "So, we need to get them alone together. Now I know they already spend a whole lot of time together as it is, so it needs to be something special."

"What, like get Elsa in Cass's room with a romantic dinner then lock the door so they can't escape?"

Anna stared at him for a moment, "Yes!"

"Anna, I love you, but this is getting out of hand. We just foiled an assassination attempt on your sister, shouldn't we be more worried about that?"

Waving a hand, Anna said, "Pfft. We've got Top people working on that. _Top_ people."


	11. Hangry

The man started when the door slammed, and looked up at the newcomer. He scowled, "Shouldn't you be dead?"

"Yeah, I should be dead, but what they don't tell you is we from Corona are made of steel. And we're mean. You should see how tough the Princess is." Cassandra leaned her hands on the table, staring down at him. "You're gonna tell me everything I want to know."

He continued to stare, growing tight lipped.

She reached out, grabbing him by the beard and yanking. "Look. I'm angry, and I'm hungry. You're just going to make me hangry, and you wouldn't like me if I'm _hangry_."

Yanking again, Cass let go, making his head snap back. He nearly tipped back out of his chair before she caught him by the shirt and yanked him forward again. "Who paid you, and more importantly, who gave you your orders?"

The man stared at her, his lips thinning out as he refused to speak. Cassandra smiled at him and said darkly, "I was hoping you'd do that."

A noise outside the cell made her turn her head. When she looked back at the prisoner, she looked _smug_. "That's the Queen. Here's the thing. I'm the _good_ one here. Can you imagine what she'd do to you? I talked her out of freezing your fingernails off, or trying the icicle trick. Or worse, letting the snowman in to _chat_."

Cassandra sighed, then rubbed her stomach lightly, "I do love the icicle trick."

"Are you… getting hangry?" He wasn't sure what was worse, that or the snowman.

She reached out, gripping his beard, "What do you think?"

He glanced at the door, then at her again. "What's the icicle trick?"

Two minutes later, Cass walked out of the cell, closing the door. She doubled over, someone catching her before she fell. Through gritted teeth, she gasped, "I know who paid them, and who actually gave the order."

Elsa had been waiting the whole time, doubt gnawing at her. Her grip on Cass tightened, "I shouldn't have let you do this."

"I'm okay, I'm just…I'll be fine." Okay, so Elsa had caught her. There were worse positions to be in. Once the dizziness and pain had subsided to a dull roar, Cassandra straightened, or tried to, "Weselton paid them."

"That's ridiculous. The Duke might be a pompous fool but I don't think he's smart enough to hire assassins like those. Or brave enough."

"He paid them, but he didn't know what for, only that he was the middleman and rewarded handsomely for it." Cassandra inhaled sharply, pulling her hands away from her stomach and half expecting blood. They were clean. "Do you know a man named Hans?"

The temperature around them dropped fifteen degrees, which was all the answer Cass needed. "So you know him. Who is this Hans?"

"A bad man who nearly killed both me and my sister." Elsa gestured for one of the guards to help her with Cass. "I need to find out if the Southern Isles have lost track of him."

There was more to this story and Cass was going to have to find out what it is, but her wound was catching up to her. She'd put it all aside for the interrogation, but now… Now, Elsa was saying something, and Cass tried to focus on it. "I'm sorry, your majesty, what was that?"

Elsa smiled. "I was asking you if you wanted me to join you for lunch once we got you back into bed. Before you get _hangry_."

"I'd love that," Cass answered, almost too quickly. "But what about Hans?"

"I'll tell you all about him, and then you can help me figure out how to ask his family about him without looking like we're accusing them of attempting to assassinate me."

"That is not even the most tense or dangerous thing I've ever given advice over," Cass remarked. As much as she might usually protest anyone helping her, she was finding it too difficult to walk on her own. She'd have to thank the guard, when she could remember his name and be able to stand up for longer than a few minutes.

She must have blacked out at some point, because one moment she was being half-carried through the castle, and the next she was laying in her bed. For a moment, she thought she was alone, but then Elsa came into view. "Tell me I didn't embarrass myself, El?"

"You passed out, fought three ogres and an entire army division while in a fugue state." Elsa sat next to the bed, putting her hand over Cassandra's, "It was glorious."

"Only three ogres?"

Elsa laughed and rubbed her thumb over Cass's hand.

The motion was a distracting one, and Cass found herself staring at Elsa in awkward silence. Finally, she cleared her throat, "How long do you think it will take to get a message back from the Isles?"

"A week, at least. Probably longer." Elsa's hand continued to caress at Cassandra's and she appeared to be weighing her words. Cass half hoped she never stopped.

"You know the gates were shut for most of my life, because we were afraid of my powers. When they finally opened for my coronation there were some who wished to take advantage."

"Please talk forever," Cass murmured, before she could stop herself.

She got a blush from Elsa for her troubles, "Hans seemed like the perfect gentleman. He wooed my sister, provided aid and comfort to the people. He did everything right to get them to love him. Only he planned to marry Anna, then kill us both and take the throne. He nearly succeeded in the murder part of his plan."

"The servants mentioned something about a frozen heart."

"That was my fault," Elsa said, eyes sad. "I hurt her because I couldn't control my powers. It was the thing I feared the most and the reason I locked myself away for so many years. And in the end it didn't matter, I still hurt her."

Taking Elsa's hand, Cass lifted it to her lips. It was rash and she blamed her current state as well as visions of a dashing lady knight from Elsa's book that had been dancing in her head. "She's okay now, and you've gained control. That's what matters."

"Yes. I worry sometimes, and as you've seen I still have problems when under pressure." Elsa squared her shoulders, smiling at Cassandra and making no move to take her hand away. "And because of that, among many other reasons, I'm going to make you more than just my handmaiden."

Cass blinked, trying to fathom what Elsa was doing. "I'm having trouble following you, El."

"As Queen of Arendelle, I hereby declare you Arendelle's first Royal Protector. It will be your job to keep me and my sister safe, as well as any family we might eventually have."

Head swimming, Cassandra needed a full minute to process what was happening. She didn't feel like she could protect them right now, but she could _make all the plans_ so they were protected until she was on her feet. "I'm honored, and I accept."

"Good, I already signed the paperwork and everything, I'd hate to have to take it back." Elsa's eyes twinkled.

Forcing herself to sit up, Cass squeezed Elsa's hand. "It might mean we'll spend even more time in close proximity."

Elsa smiled, and Cass's eyes were distracted by those damnable pouty kissable lips. It was almost enough to make her forget Elsa's comment about families. Could she stand to see Elsa with someone else, the way she'd been forced to watch Raps with Eugene? Nearly dying kind of put everything in perspective, and she'd even pulled Elsa into a very small circle of people who knew her most personal information.

Cass didn't have an answer for herself, and before she could formulate one, Elsa was leaning in and Cassandra nearly panicked. Elsa's lips were soft and warm on her forehead, and she breathed out a frustrated sigh.

Fine.

She could blame her injury if this went bad, but Cass slid her arm around Elsa and pulled her down onto the bed next to her. "As Royal Protector, I need to keep you close."

For just a moment, she thought she'd made a mistake. Like … despite what they'd shared over the past six months had made this a bridge too far.

But then Elsa curled up against her side and rested her head on her shoulder. Cass moved her hand down Elsa's side to her hip and left it there. For an ice queen, she was _really_ warm.

Or maybe the warmth was coming from within Cass, as she turned her head to look at the Queen. Elsa's eyes were closed, and she had a soft, almost radiant smile on her face.

 _Yeah. I'm doomed._


	12. For Want of a Goat

Cass proved to be an insufferable patient during her recovery over the next several weeks, but it led to a more efficient guard schedule and some clever traps for any would be assassins. Since she couldn't be up and about for very long, she focused on the things she could do. And she read Elsa's book cover to cover.

Elsa didn't mind it too much. Nor did she mind late nights talking to Cass and falling asleep next to her. Frequently she found herself craving Cassandra's presence and she felt conflicted about it. She was so used to being alone that she couldn't always handle people for longer than a few hours, at least in large groups. But Cass didn't exhaust her. Even Anna could, but she very rarely found herself wanting to be alone when Cass was near.

In particular, petition day was always draining, but she usually enjoyed it. It helped that she had Anna to assist her.

Her sister was handling a dispute over a goat, and Elsa was pleased at the solution when it came up.

"Share the goat," Anna suggested.

"You mean… Cook it up and share the meat?" One of the men, the lanky one, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Baa?"

Agreeing with the goat, Anna exclaimed, "Wait what? No! The milk! She's a milking goat, there's more than enough for the two of you if you shared."

"Oh." The first man considered the notion, then nodded his head. "I can do that."

His neighbor agreed, "Me too."

"Baa!"

"Great!" Anna clapped her hands together, then sank back onto the throne as they left. "Would you believe that was the most exciting petition today?"

"I believe it," Elsa said. "Though the cooking idea had merit."

Anna smacked her in the arm. "Don't be mean."

Love swelled up inside Elsa's chest despite the teasing smack. Anna wasn't just the one who'd produce a heir, she _was_ the heir. She'd more than stepped into the role and Elsa couldn't be prouder. Arendelle loved her too. More than once, Elsa thought that Anna should have been the eldest, if only because of her connection to the people. A connection that Elsa sometimes struggled with even now.

"Any word from the Isles?" Anna asked, "It's been almost two months. I'm starting to think they don't actually want to talk to us."

"Actually, we got a letter today. I was on my way to talk to the Royal Protector about it."

"Such a fancy title," Anna hopped to her feet. "I love it."

Elsa waited for Anna to join her before she started to walk, "I think she loves it too. Not everyone gets to set the standard for a new position and I think she was born to organize."

"You really did make her year."

Laughing, Elsa replied, "I hope I did."

"You know what else will make her year?"

Ignoring Anna, Elsa folded her arms.

Making a frustrated sound, Anna folded her arms in turn and pouted until they reached Cassandra's office. It used to be one of the libraries and the shelves had been filled with a variety of books that Cass had thought would inform her new position. There was also a weapon rack and she'd hung the painting from Rapunzel over her desk.

Elsa's unexpected surge of jealousy was derailed by the view of Cass leaning over a map on her desk. She stopped short and Anna nearly ran into her.

"Hey what… _oh_." Anna followed Elsa's gaze and grinned. Cass's hair was mussed, and her shirt was loose and partly unbuttoned in a way that made Elsa speechless. Her mind immediately wondered what it would be like to finish unbuttoning that shirt, push it down and off of Cassandra while kissing her and her throat and chest. And then that image played on loop.

Saving Elsa from the embarrassment of what was clearly some kind of mental shut down, Anna announced their presence, "I hope you didn't work too hard. If you pull your stitches out the doctor will kill you."

Cass looked up, her eyes falling on Elsa and there was a full second where Elsa was certain Cass was blushing almost as much as she was, before she spoke, "I only did some stretching and I hit a training dummy a few times. I'm fine."

"You better be," Elsa said, teasingly scolding like she hadn't just been fantasizing about kissing her. "I'd hate to lose you so soon after your promotion."

"I helped!" Olaf came out from behind Cass's desk.

"And how did you help?" Anna asked, curious.

"I counted!"

She looked at Cass for clarification.

"I had him count for me, to set the pace," Cass answered. "He's pretty good at it. So how can I help you, El- your majesty?"

Anna squinted, and Olaf started counting to himself as he walked in a circle, "One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four…"

"I've received word from the Southern Isles. Hans disappeared six months ago." Elsa tossed the letter onto the table. "They don't know where he is, disavow all knowledge of his plans and have given us leave to deal with him as we see fit."

"One, two, three, four…"

"Wow, harsh," Anna said. She almost felt pity for him. It wasn't his fault he'd been born into such a large family, but it had been his choice to do the things he'd done and he'd have to face all the consequences.

"We'll need to make plans for what to do with him once we catch him." Cass was positive they would find him. She picked the letter, reading it over. "That's probably easier said than done. I wish there was someone we could talk to that actually knew him."

"The Duke?" Elsa shook her head, "But I'm sure Hans gave him the persona he wanted to see too, just like he did for everyone else."

"So Hans is the kind of man to give people what they want to see?" Setting the letter back down, Cass stared down at it.

"We know he wants power and a throne of his own," Anna said. "And revenge. He blames Elsa for his fall from grace."

"He blames you too." Elsa took her sister's hand. "One of those assassins came for you."

Anna punched the air with her free hand, "They shoulda sent two!"

"Easy, lets not get too crazy." Elsa found herself sharing an exasperated look with Cass, and she could feel her cheeks warming the longer they stared at each other. Hoping to get back to the task at hand, she cleared her throat, "We need to lure him out, and since I refuse to risk either my family or my people, I'll be the bait."

"One, two, three…" Olaf stopped and looked up at Elsa.

"No!" Anna whirled on her, and in almost the same amount of time Cass had somehow come out from behind the desk to help corner her.

"Anna's right, it's too dangerous."

Both touched and annoyed at their protectiveness, Elsa looked between them. " _I'm_ the Queen, and the only person I'll risk is myself. If he has a choice between the two of us, he'll come for me first. I'm more dangerous."

"I'm the one who ruined his plans by throwing myself between you and his sword."

"Hold on." Cassandra raised her hands. "Whatever it is we do to lure him out, it needs to wait until I'm fully healed. I'm not going to let _anyone_ risk their lives until I'm capable of protecting you both."

"Who died and made you Queen," Anna's face twisted up into an incredulous expression.

"Actually." Elsa raised her finger. "I _kind_ of gave the Royal Protector a lot of power when it comes to protecting the Royal family."

"Oh. Well. Okay." Anna's mouth snapped shut. "So what do we do for now?"

"Business as usual, with heightened security," Cassandra explained. "In the meantime we'll start laying the trap. Make sure the right ears hear the right words, that Hans feels like it might be worth coming out of hiding himself,but _only_ when we're ready."

"Then it's settled." Elsa rubbed the palm of her hand, glancing down at the desk rather than risk seeing whatever expression was on Cass's face.

"What's settled," Olaf asked.

"The plan to trap Hans."

"Oh, you mean the plan where we use Elsa as bait like a worm on fish hook and then when Hans bites we _reel_ him in and he fights and we let the line go slack and then we reel again and he fights and we let the line go slack and then we _yank_ and he lands on the shore and flops around?"

The room fell silent, and Cass pinched the bridge of her nose. "Basically."

"I love fishing."

"Cass, would you like to join us for dinner?" Anna asked. Cass hadn't been able to make dinner most of the time lately, between her injury and settling into her new duties.

And Anna had a _plan_. She ignored the look Elsa gave her, instead smiling at Cassandra expectantly.

"I'd like that, I've kind of missed it," Cass admitted.

"Great, I was thinking instead of the dining hall we could take dinner someplace more intimate. Like the room off of Elsa's bedroom."

What was she doing? Elsa turned and stared directly at Anna, and nearly missed Cassandra agreeing to it. She was in such a haze trying to understand what her sister was up to that she didn't notice she was being pulled outside until she was actually outside, "Anna, what are you doing?"

"Setting up a nice dinner, just the three of us." Anna had a reassuring smile on her face. "That's all. Come on, we've gotta pick out something for you to wear."

"Wait, what?"


	13. Radiance

Just the three of them turned out to be just two, as Anna sent a note saying she wouldn't be making it. Was she trying to set them up? Cass couldn't bring herself to hope, though Elsa was beautiful tonight.

 _Radiant_ even. Her hair glittered in the candle light and there appeared to be a dusting of frost under her eyes. Though she'd seen Elsa's hair down on countless occasions, somehow she thought it would look different this time. It was a thought that made her pulse race nearly as much as the gown Elsa wore.

A gown that was low cut enough that Cass found it difficult to look away. Of course, the alternate view was Elsa's glittering face, which stoked a different kind of fire than the decolletage. Her heart tightened every time she looked into Elsa's eyes, making it difficult to form coherent sentences, but it was better than staring at her chest. Elsa kept looking at Cass like she wanted to devour her so Cass focused on talking business. Security, her attempts to dig up contacts to find out Hans' location and ideas for how to lure him out, and upcoming events for the Queen and the Princess.

"I think I'm done with business for the night," Elsa announced. There was a firm note of finality to her tone, mixed with amusement.

Cass felt her face grow hot, and she looked down at the meal they'd finished twenty minutes ago. "I um. Of course. Thanks for indulging me." She searched for something to say. This was usually a lot easier but she usually wasn't alone with Elsa all dressed up and ready for dessert. "Uh. How is Anna?"

"I'll always indulge you," Elsa assured her. "And really, I don't usually mind. But I think we've covered everything already." Leaning forward, she rested her chin on her hand. "Anna is a clever, scheming woman and I'll have to deal with her tomorrow."

"Can I watch?"

Elsa laughed, "You may help."

"Good," Cass replied, though she wasn't sure if they were going to kill Anna or bake her a cake. Cass could really go either way right now. A candlelit dinner, and Elsa seemed receptive. It was a good thing, except Cass had no idea what she was actually doing or how to make sure she didn't somehow ruin everything.

"Did you finish the book?"

"Twice," Cass answered. "Chapter 14 gets me every time. Don't repeat that."

Elsa laughed, "I promise I won't tell a soul." Her foot bumped into Cass's, and Cass jumped a little. "I've probably read page two-thirty too many times to count."

"I don't really blame you." That chapter was not really the kind of chapter that Cass needed to imagine Elsa reading, and she tried not to read more into that than it was. But Elsa's foot bumped hers again. She hesitated, then bumped Elsa's foot back. For her efforts, she felt Elsa's bare toes rub up her ankle and swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. The air felt charged, and Elsa was watching her calmly and patiently, a soft if slightly crooked smile on her face. Once, Cass had watched in disgust and jealousy as Raps and Eugene had played footsie but now all of a sudden she _understood_.

Oh god, she hoped she didn't turn into _that_ kind of person, but she met Elsa's eyes and Elsa was _enjoying_ this, this torment, and she probably had no idea how much it was affecting her. Did she even realize how far out of her league she was? Cass could face assassins and bandits and probably a dragon or two, but she wasn't sure she could face not being able to have the woman she wanted. Not again.

Of course she was already too deep into this and the longer she stared into Elsa's eyes the more certain she was of drowning. Elsa stood and gestured for Cass to get up as well.

Not entirely sure her legs would work, Cass obeyed, unable to stop herself from drinking in the view. Elsa moved towards the window and leaned on the ledge. Her dress shimmered, little sparks of moonlight dancing on her form. She was like one of those princesses in the stories, the ones Cass would imagine she'd rescue. Only she was a real live legitimate Queen.

Cass's legs took her closer to Elsa, _What am I doing?!_

If Elsa was as nervous as Cass felt, it wasn't obvious until she got a little closer. Elsa's breathing was a little too quick and she kept chewing on her lip. A lot of things suddenly made much more sense.

Immediately setting her own nerves aside, Cass reached out to touch Elsa's shoulders, squeezing lightly and rubbing her thumbs in tight circles that elicited a soft moan. Elsa's skin was chilled, most of her shoulders, back and neck exposed. Even through the fabric of her gown she was cold, and Cass ran her hands down her arms as Elsa leaned back against her.

Words could break the mood, but in a rough voice Cass asked, "Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"Just… want to make sure we're on the same page here." That this was okay. That this wasn't wrong, that their signals hadn't gotten crossed.

Sounding about as breathless as Cass felt, Elsa suggested, "Page two-thirty?"

Okay, Cass had to give Elsa that one, that was _smooth_. Her eyes fell to the exposed skin of Elsa's shoulder, and like a spell had been cast over her, Cass leaned forward. She brushed her lips along the shoulder as Elsa tilted her head to expose her neck. Gripping Elsa's waist as she kissed where neck and shoulder met, Cass then slid her arms around and splayed her fingers across Elsa's stomach. A fog settled in her head as she rubbed her hands around, wishing there was no fabric in the way.

At Elsa's murmured encouragement, Cass trailed kisses across the back of her neck to the other shoulder, releasing one hand from her waist to pull aside Elsa's braid. Someone moaned, and Cass was pretty sure that had been her. She breathed into Elsa's ear, feeling Elsa shudder in her arms as she kissed that same spot. The chill of Elsa's skin was gone, replaced by a warmth she could also feel spreading through her own body.

Elsa turned in her arms, sliding her magic hands up Cass's back and then into Cass's hair as she kissed her. Electricity surged through Cass as the kiss lingered, before she shifted a little against Elsa. The kiss deepened and in their shared eagerness Cass all but had Elsa pinned against the window. Cassandra hadn't planned for this moment or even that this could possibly be a moment anytime within the next decade. She'd already thrown caution to the wind, so she slid one hand around to Elsa's back, the other inching up her front until Elsa moaned and pressed her chest against Cass's hand.

Cass's fingers had just started pulling down the zipper on the back of Elsa's dress when there was a loud knock at the door. She was released so suddenly that she stumbled back and nearly crashed into the table. Whoever that was was going to _suffer_. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and from the expression on Elsa's face she knew that was a mutual feeling.

Before Cass could say anything, the air dropped to below freezing. The shock cooled Cass down, the fog in her head lifting as the temperature returned to normal. Though nothing could disguise the flush on their faces, she tried to fix her hair and Elsa's before Elsa opened the door, "What is it?"

"Your majesty, I'm sorry to intrude, but we have grave news from Corona."

The color drained completely from Cassandra's face as she came from behind Elsa. "What happened?"

"Princess Rapunzel is deathly ill."


	14. A Cold Wind

Cassandra was gone that very next morning. It left Elsa in an awkward position, as she was unsure what the previous night had meant for them and knew Cassandra was too distraught to have that conversation. Elsa wasn't even particularly jealous, worried enough for her cousin that she felt like such feelings weren't appropriate.

But until Cassandra returned, she was left with many questions she couldn't get answers to and spent much of her time in the library those first few days until Anna dragged her outside for fresh air.

"You know, she told you to keep practicing," Anna said, tossing her sister a training sword before picking up a greatsword with one hand and swinging it around with a laugh that would be alarming under normal circumstances. She flipped it in the air and caught it, "And I should too!"

"I was thinking of a writing contest," Elsa said, pulling her cloak off and folding it. She twirled her sword, marveling at the ease that Anna had hefted that greatsword, "I want to see more stories like my favorite. Where the girls are the heroes."

"And sometimes the girls get the girl?" Anna rested the flat of the claymore on her shoulder, grinning back when Elsa smiled sheepishly at her. "We'll probably get word soon. Like in the next day or two."

"I hope so." Elsa gripped her sword in both hands, ice forming up her arms like gauntlets.

"Oh! Hey! That's really cool!"

"I'm going to kick your butt for that pun, Anna." Elsa darted forward, ducking under Anna's swing and smacking her in the rump with the flat of her training sword.

Anna yelped, but followed through, using the momentum of her greatsword to continue her spin. She changed the angle, bringing it down in a slashing motion that jarred Elsa down to the bones when she blocked it.

It was definitely a better performance than some earlier training exercises and Elsa found herself enjoying it as it eventually devolved from a sparring session to her and Anna chasing each other with swords and giggling a lot. For the time being at least, her worry about Cassandra and Rapunzel was forgotten.

Her sister proved to be quite adept at distracting her. It was only a few days later, but she'd written up a proposal for an Arendelle Creator's Conference, with the idea of inspiring people young and old to write or draw or interpretive dance.

Anna had assured her that the latter was a thing.

Who was she to argue? Anna was enjoying herself and it really would be good for the kingdom as a whole. Elsa had always wanted to do something to make the world look at Arendelle as more than a trading partner or ruled by a magic Queen. If Corona could be known for the arts, then Arendelle could be known for music and prose and art too.

The day was set, and Elsa hoped Cassandra would return before the event. Or at the least, write. She didn't feel it appropriate to write her (and besides, what would she say? 'I miss you and I hope my cousin who you were very clearly in love with is okay')

She'd sent one of Arendelle's best doctors and a letter to the King with Cassandra. Olaf had tagged along for moral support. Until they received word, it was all she could do. Corona was three, maybe four days away by sea, but that didn't mean anything. It could take weeks, or longer. Maybe… maybe Cass wouldn't come back at all.

Anna was been right, she needed to keep herself busy, rather than pine after Cassandra, or worry about Rapunzel and the assassins. She kept up the sword training and designed ice sculptures for her sister's conference. She wouldn't enter the contests, of course. But she'd judge them and provide some decor for the occasion.

It warmed her heart the way her people reacted to her displays of ice and snow. Elsa loved the delight and awe in the eyes of children and the love and respect in the eyes of the adults. It reminded her that love made her strong. The love of her people and of her family. And maybe, she hoped, of Cassandra. All signs had pointed to yes, but sometimes you needed to _hear_ it.

One day, nearly a month after Cassandra had left, Elsa found herself standing outside Cassandra's room.

"Kind of rude, going inside when she's not here."

Elsa lifted her head, smiling at Kristoff, "I wasn't going to. I just miss her. I spent so long isolated from everyone, I should be used to this."

Dropping her hand from the door, Elsa joined Kristoff in the center of the hallway. There were times he was still nervous about being informal with her and she wanted to reaffirm that they were basically family. Without the country watching, they could act like the friends they were. "So what brings you up here."

"Anna's worried about you."

"Just Anna?"

Shrugging, Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess me too. And Sven."

Gesturing for him to join her, Elsa started walking.

He caught up quickly, "But you should think about it like this. You're always with Anna, or Olaf, or one of the staff. You hang out with me and Sven too. You've been doing the exact opposite of isolating yourself. You'll probably always need time to yourself, to recharge from being around people, but you've let people in. It's okay to miss someone. Sometimes you even miss them when they're still nearby. God knows I feel that way about Anna."

"You're right." About everything. She did need time alone, but she also enjoyed being around friends and family. And being around Cass. She could feel Cassandra's absence like a hole in her chest. It was much better to retire to her room and know she'd be there the next day, than the way things were now.

But she felt guilty even thinking about that. "I only wish we had more news from Corona. It's strange they haven't written. I only ever met my cousin once, but she was endearing and sweet."

It was no wonder that Cassandra had been in love with her, but Elsa didn't say that outloud. Like other things, it was Cassandra's choice to tell and Elsa might even be wrong. But she doubted it.

"I've got this business arrangement with this guy in the capitol who makes really good cupcakes, I'll write him a letter and see if he's heard anything. That way it won't look like you're hovering, or something. I don't really know how international relations work."

Elsa looked at Kristoff and his sheepish smile, and managed a laugh, "I'll let you in on a secret - I don't always understand it myself and I've spent years learning the ins and outs."

She saw something reflected in Kristoff's eyes, and turned, bringing up a wall of ice as she did so. Several arrows stuck in her wall, and she backpeddled.

"This way!" Kristoff grabbed her arm and started running in the opposite direction. Elsa let him lead, creating an ice slick in the hallway and another barrier of ice.

They burst into the nearest door, and Kristoff closed it, pushing a heavy piece of furniture in front of it. He realized they were in Cassandra's room. "Well. We can apologize later."

He drew one of her swords from the weapon's cabinet, and watched as Elsa formed a perfect imitation out of hardened ice. "You've been practicing that, haven't you."

She shrugged with a smile, "I might not always be in a place where there's a sword."

Turning towards the window, Elsa approached it cautiously, forming a shield so she could peek out without risking an arrow to the face. "We have to get to Anna, she's a target too."

A sound drew her attention above her, and she caught a glimpse of someone's foot before it disappeared onto the roof.

If they could get up there, they could get in here, leaving them vulnerable with no escape. And leaving her sister god knows where. Without bothering to ask Kristoff if it was a good idea, Elsa grabbed him by the arm and flung them both out the window. She ignored his scream as they landed on an ice ramp and slid down towards the courtyard below.

Something hard and sharp pierced her left bicep and the impact sent her off the edge of her slide.

"Elsa!" Kristoff grabbed her wrist, his other hand clasping desperately at the slide to keep himself from going off after her. She dangled and bounced off the edge of the ramp as they reached the end and slid to a stop, too far for the assassin to hit them.

"I've got you." He lowered her down to the ground, then hopped off, landing next to her.

Sagging against him, Elsa bit back a groan at the pain. In the books, the hero would just snap the arrowhead off and pull it out, but she didn't know if that was actually realistic or it would make things worse. What she did know is she could freeze the blood around the wound to stop the bleeding, as long as the arrow was gone. And the arrow had to go.

Kristoff seemed to have the same idea. "We need to remove this."

"Just do it, please."

Nodding, Kristoff carefully broke off both the arrowhead and the feathers, then pulled the shaft out of Elsa's arm. The world swam around her, but she froze the wounds and half clung to him until she felt steady enough to move, and then she could only voice one thought. "Anna. We have to find _Anna_."

Before he could respond, Kristoff nearly lost his head. He ducked out of the way of a sword, parried a follow-up strike and got pushed back towards the fountain.

At the same time, Elsa found herself locking swords with someone that wasn't so much an assassin as some kind of mercenary. He clearly didn't expect to see the Queen, nor for a cage of ice to surround him.

Elsa turned around. Smoke was rising from the direction of the town, and she could now hear the clang of swords and the raised voices of men and women.

The castle gates shuddered, and then splintered as a fiery explosion ripped through them.

Arendelle was under attack!

Elsa rushed to Kristoff's aid, pulling the attacker off of him and freezing the woman to the ground before knocking her out with the hilt of her ice-sword.

She grabbed Kristoff by the arm, an agonized expression on her face. "Find Anna, I have to…" Elsa gestured towards the castle and the town beyond it. Her sister needed her. Her people needed her. There were soldiers and assassins everywhere. Elsa couldn't be in two places at once.

"I'll find Anna and get her to safety," Kristoff said, before amending. "Or probably have her drag me back here to help you."

Trusting Kristoff to take care of her sister, Elsa's grip tightened on her sword. While she had armor for the event Arendelle actually went to war, that was in the castle proper and she didn't have time to try to figure out how to put it on without help. But as she started towards the twisted gate, ice formed in layers on her body and her limbs, hardening and shaping itself into startlingly elegant armor. Last of all formed a helm with sweeping wings like the Valkyrie of myth. The sky darkened, a cold wind howling as snow began to fall.

Her people were being hurt and Elsa had already hurt them enough in her lifetime. Elsa hadn't been able to prevent Cassandra from being hurt, but this time she'd be able to defend her country. She would not allow any more harm to come to her people while she had the power protect them and the training to fight.

"Let the storm rage on," she murmured.


	15. A Long Overdue Reunion

Corona was exactly as Cassandra remembered it. She could see the castle against the morning sky as the ship pulled into dock. In any other circumstance, Rapunzel would have been waiting with Pascal on her shoulder and Eugene dragged along unwillingly.

But Rapunzel was ill. Possibly dying. And yet… there was Eugene, who'd somehow managed to drag himself from Rapunzel's side to greet her.

Cassandra didn't know if she wanted to hug him or hit him.

She settled on the former and pulled away quickly before it got awkward. "That was the fastest ship they had and it was still too slow. How is she?"

She frowned, "And how are you holding up?"

He had a grim expression on his face, "She's not doing that good, Cass. Drifts in and out of sleep, barely eats. Is as pale as snow. I'm doing a little better, just… torn up with worry."

Eugene was being honest, and he hadn't commented on the fact that she'd expressed concern for his well being nor had he insulted her. This was bad. This was very, very bad. She felt a cold chill in her chest and stomach and it was suddenly a little too hard to breath. "Can I see her?"

"Yeah. She's been asking for you."

He made it sound so final. Cassandra started to jog towards the castle, suddenly terrified that _this_ would be the time Rapunzel died. When Cassandra had been away, when she was so close and yet out of reach. If she hadn't left in the first place, maybe Rapunzel would be okay.

"Hello, I'm Olaf, Cassandra's escort!"

Eugene glanced at the _talking snowman_ as they started to rush after Cassandra, "So your snowman talks. That's nice."

"You get used to it." Cass took the steps three at a time.

Rapunzel was in her bedroom. The curtains were shut, only a thin line of lights to illuminate the room and Rapunzel's pale face. Cassandra felt something twist inside her. Rapunzel's normally bright eyes were dull, and her cheeks had started to sink in from lack of nutrition. She truly looked like she was at death's door. Pascal looked colorless in sympathy from his perch above Rapunzel's head.

Hearing the door close behind her, Cass took a step towards Rapunzel as Rapunzel turned her head to look at her. Rapunzel's eyes brightened ever so slightly, and she tried to sit up. Eugene rushed past her, gently pushing Rapunzel back down.

"Easy, easy. You need your rest."

"I'm tired of resting." Despite the weakness in Rapunzel's voice, Cassandra could still hear the girl's defiance. For the first time since she'd left Arendelle, she felt little hope.

"Listen to Eugene," Cass said, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching up to give Pascal a little pet with her finger. "You're very sick, you need to let your body fight for you."

Rapunzel weakly flailed her hand until Cassandra took it. "I know. It's just… really good to see you."

Rapunzel smiled. There'd been a time where Cassandra had missed that more than she'd missed anything in the world and she tightened her grip on Rapunzel's hand. "It's real good to see you too, Raps."

Leaning over, Eugene kissed Rapunzel's forehead. "I'm gonna have a chat with the doctors and let you two talk a bit."

"Can I come?"

"Is that a talking snowman?" Rapunzel tried to look in the direction of Olaf's voice. "That's _so_ cool!"

"I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs."

Rapunzel's smile widened, "Save one of those hugs for me, okay?"

"I'll save you an extra big and warm one," Olaf promised.

"Come on, Frosty, let's give them a few minutes."

Cassandra gave Eugene a grateful look, and once they were gone, she had to fight the urge to crawl into the bed with Rapunzel. "Tell me the truth, how are you really feeling?"

"Like I'm dying." Rapunzel sighed heavily, and tugged weakly at Cassandra's hand. "Lie down."

Cassandra obeyed, laying on her left side and facing Rapunzel. She scooted closer, until she could rest her cheek on the Princess's shoulder. Rapunzel took her hand and held it over her stomach. Cass asked, "This better?"

"Much." Rapunzel closed her eyes, and inhaled as deeply as she could, only to cough. "Everyone is besides themselves. Nothing is really working, and they don't know I can hear them, but they don't think I'm just sick."

A rock formed inside Cassandra's stomach, "You were poisoned."

"Probably."

They must not know what kind of poison it was, or else they'd be working on a cure. Cass fought a wave of anger, clutching Rapunzel close to her. "No one else is sick?"

"Just me. Lucky me."

"Then it wasn't food or water," Cass decided. She started to get up, only for Rapunzel to make a complaining sound.

"You just got here, can you give me a few minutes before you go off on some quest to save my life?"

"You know me too well." Cass propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at Raps. "Remember when we'd do this after your nightmares?"

Rapunzel laughed, "Yeah. You were the best security blanket."

And never anything more. Cassandra scooted up the bed a bit, until she was sitting up and could stroke Rapunzel's hair.

Things were silent for a few moments, until Rapunzel's eyes darted up to Cass's face. She sounded so _hurt_ that it broke Cass's heart, "Why didn't you write?"

What did you _say_ to that? Cass squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't have to look at Rapunzel.

"Cass…"

"I didn't know what to say." Cass's voice was a raspy whisper. "I started a dozen letters. A hundred. And none of them _sounded_ right."

Days passed, and then weeks and months and the longer she went without writing the harder the words were and the more guilty she felt and the harder it became to try. It was some kind of horrible feedback loop.

Rapunzel's hand touched Cassandra's face. She opened her eyes to see Rapunzel's staring at her. "I'm sorry, Raps. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Rapunzel brushed at a stray tear on Cassandra's cheek. "It's okay, you're here now and that's what matters."

What if she'd been too late? What if Rapunzel had died before she could see her again? Cassandra took Rapunzel's hand and squeezed it between both of hers. "I need to tell you why I left."

"You were in love with me."

Her mouth dropped open, and she straightened to stare down at Rapunzel. "...you knew?"

"Yes. Everyone did." Rapunzel pulled Cassandra back down. At least, she tried to. It was more of a weak tug that Cassandra simply gave into.

"Even _Eugene_?"

"He figured it out first." Rapunzel coughed, and for a full minute she was racked with coughs and all Cass could do was rub her chest and hold her.

Once she was certain Rapunzel wasn't going to leave her yet, Cassandra could actually absorb what she'd said. That Eugene figured it out first left her dazed and a little nauseous.

"So it's true?"

She looked at Rapunzel again. "I just said...yes. I was in love with you."

Rapunzel held her arms apart, and Cassandra hesitated before she scooted closer and let herself be enveloped in them. "I'm sorry, Raps."

"Don't be sorry. Love is the most pure emotion there is." Rapunzel's fingers moved along Cassandra's back. It was the only thing she had energy for.

It was probably the most Rapunzel thing Rapunzel could say and Cass thought that, okay, she was still a little in love with her. That would probably never change and she realized she didn't want it to. "What I wanted most was for you to be happy, but I couldn't… watch you be happy with someone else. And I knew I'd just start to resent him. And you. And neither of you deserved that. So I put distance between us."

"Arendelle is a _lot_ of distance," Rapunzel pointed out.

"Yes. But the view is spectacular when you get there."

They fell into a companionable silence. Cassandra was itching to get out and find a solution to Rapunzel's sickness, but was also afraid that if she did she'd never see Raps alive again. God, her parents must be out of their minds.

"Are you happy there?"

Smiling, Cass replied, "Yes. I wasn't sure I would ever be, but the people are kind. Princess Anna is full of energy. I think she could run circles around even you."

"And the Queen?"

"Elsa is _so_ beautiful it hurts," Cass caught herself too late and held her breath.

"...Cass." Rapunzel turned her head towards Cass's, taking a moment to catch her breath before asking, "...did you fall in love with Elsa?"

"It's a bad habit I've developed," Cass answered, for the first time admitting to herself just how deep her feelings for Elsa had become. It helped that it was hard enough for her to hide anything from Rapunzel even when she wasn't sick.

Unable to help it, she laughed, "I didn't plan on it. She's kind and has this clever sense of humor. She looks at me and quirks her eyebrow and my knees go weak, like in all those stupid books."

"At least tell me _I_ made your knees weak."

Cass could hear the amusement in Rapunzel's tone, "All the time, Raps."

"Good. I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise."

"You're going to have a long time to live with yourself." Cassandra forced herself to leave Rapunzel's side, and smoothed down her tunic once she was standing. "Because I'm not going to let you die."

"Good, I need you to tell me all about your crush." Something like hope sparked in Rapunzel's eyes, and Cassandra didn't need to ask to know that that was the first time in days that Rapunzel had the will to fight.

"I need you to tell me everything you did the day you got sick." She looked around the room as Rapunzel talked. It pained her to hear the raspiness of her voice, and how faint it sounded.

"I got up and got dressed. I had breakfast with Pascal, then Eugene and I went riding. Tea with my mom. Lunch with dad. I felt fine all day. Before dinner I started working with my new paints."

"New paints?" Cassandra's head snapped towards the canvas in the corner.

"Yes. They were a gift."

"...Rapunzel, did you make it to dinner?"

Trying to sit up, Rapunzel tried to get as far up on her elbows as she could. "No." Her eyes widened as she rasped, "The paint!"

"Yeah. The poison was in the paint." Cassandra wrapped a cloth around her hand and picked up one of the vials that had seen the most use. The paint was a beautiful shade of blue, with some kind of sparkly glitter in it.

She very carefully sniffed it. It had a floral scent, and she was only familiar with it because she'd made a point of becoming familiar with the scent of various poisons. "I know what this is!"

"Of course you do," Rapunzel remarked. From anyone else it might have been a wry remark, but Rapunzel was earnest and proud.

"There's a rare flower from the eastern part of Corona. In its natural state it's harmless, and can even be ingested in low doses. But if the petals are prepared in just the right way, the toxicity goes up." She walked back to the bed, and leaned down to kiss Rapunzel's forehead. "And there's a cure, but it'll take me a few days to get the ingredients and get back."

Three if she pushed it, but most likely four. But she'd do it to save Rapunzel. And then she was going to find Hans and kill him. And probably whoever he was working with - without the help of his home kingdom, he had to have found someone to help him. And there were a half dozen kingdoms at the top of Cassandra's suspect list. Tamrac, Avalor, Feronda...

Before she could pull away, Rapunzel's fingers tangled in the front of Cassandra's tunic. Rapunzel pulled her down and she kissed her.

The kiss lingered for several heartbeats before Cass could make herself pull away. She looked at Rapunzel in confusion.

"In case you don't make it in time, so you'd know what it was like," Rapunzel said. "And… _I_ wanted to know what it was like. To kiss a girl."

"I'll make it back," Cass promised, mouth dry. "...so what was it like?"

Smiling as her head sank down onto her pillow, Rapunzel replied, "It was nice. My cousin is very lucky."

Cass hoped Rapunzel never changed, even if her actions _had_ dug up old hurts she'd thought she'd gotten over. And yet, it didn't hurt as much. If anything, it made her miss Elsa. But she'd have to sort through that on the ride East. She paused at the door, bringing her fingers to her lips, "Hey Raps? Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being you." She left before she could hear Rapunzel's response, rushing down stairs with the paint. She found Eugene and the doctors. The Coronan Royal doctor appeared to be enamoured with Olaf.

"When you're done dissecting the snowman, I know where to find the cure for Rapunzel."

"I beg your pardon?" He stood, turning to look at her. "What makes you so certain?"

"The poison was in her new paints." She tossed the bottle to Eugene. "I recognized the scent, it's a rare flower that can be turned into a poison by someone with the right knowledge. Or a fat purse to pay the right someone."

Eugene lifted the bottle gingerly, "So what's the cure?"

"Honey. A very specific honey from a very-"

"-specific kind of bee in a very specific location," Eugene finished for her. "Yeah yeah, it's always something like that. Let's get going."

"A one-way trip is a little over a day, and that's if we push it," Cass said. She looked down at Olaf, placing her hand on top of his head, "I have a very important job for you."

Sticking his left arm back into place, Olaf looked up at Cass eagerly, "I am at your service!"

"I need you to stay with Rapunzel, and give her your best warm hugs. Keep her company. She needs a friend right now, but Eugene and I have to make a long trip."

"Yes ma'am!"

Cass moved her hand and turned to Eugene. "All right Fitzherbert, let's go save our Princess."

"You get the horses ready," he replied, then dashed up the stairs.

She watched him go, understanding, before rushing to put together supplies. Reaching for a pack, her hand bumped into someone else's. King Frederick looked at her, a desperation in his eyes, "Let me help you pack. I just… I need to do _something_."

Cassandra could only nod.


	16. Sticky Situations

"Why didn't you write?"

It hadn't even been two hours. Cassandra had hoped that the silence would last much longer than that. She'd also hoped that Eugene wouldn't have mentioned it at all. From the accusatory tone, she could only imagine what sort of scene with Rapunzel had upset him enough for it to linger like that and guilt latched itself into her heart.

Cass deserved his anger. She'd certainly been upset enough with herself. "I don't really have a good excuse. I was scared. I couldn't figure out what to say, and the longer it took for me to write a letter, the worse it got. There are a hundred letters in my trashbin I couldn't finish, let alone send."

Eugene frowned. "Blondie just wanted to know you were okay. To hear how you were doing. If you'd settled in, made friends. You could have started with that."

Maximus huffed, stamping his hoof in agreement and that just made Cass feel worse than anything Eugene could have said.

"You're right." Cass sighed, finding she missed their usual banter. It was much better when they were sniping at each other. This… whatever this was, made her uncomfortable, "Like I said, I don't really have an excuse."

Eugene fell silent, and Cass thought that maybe that was that. Not even a comment about her telling him he was right. And she hated it. And she was angry with herself for hating it. Damn, did she have to say it? Did she actually have to say she missed-

"You know, I can't believe it. You? Scared? You might be many things. Frigid wight. The lady from my nightmares that eats souls. Satan herself. But scared? Not possible."

"You should know why I might feel that way."

"It's Rapunzel," Eugene replied, as if that explained everything.

And in a way he was right. With a few exceptions, everyone loved Rapunzel. And other than Eugene, Cass had spent the most time with her. Maybe it had been inevitable that she'd fall in love.

"Yeah, that's Raps for you." Cass sighed.

He looked at her, then rode closer, a suddenly wicked smile on his face. "How _are_ you finding Arendelle, anyway? I always figured you'd be right at home with the rest of Queen Elsa's ice sculptures."

Cassandra actually smiled for a split second. "It was really nice, actually. The wildlife is a lot different. Too cold for dumb apes."

"You'd think it would be too cold for venomous reptiles but you seem to have adapted." Eugene grinned at her. "So you and Elsa?"

" _Raps._ "

"It is true!" He laughed and pointed at her. "How does that even work? When you kiss does your tongue stick to her?"

" _Eugene!_ "

"This is so perfect," he slapped his leg, overcome with laughter. "Oh man, I just can't get over it. Cassandra the Cold Blooded and the Ice Queen. It's just too good to be true!"

"I'm going to pretend you don't exist now."

"Does she know?"

"About what?" Cass asked, though she could guess what he meant.

"You know…" He waved his hand in a vaguely 'you know' sort of way, "Your past."

"Yes, I told her after I was impaled."

"Wait, you were …How are you _still alive_? You know what, I don't even want to know, obviously you made some kind of deal with some kind of devil." Eugene shook his head. He knew how how difficult that had to have been for Cass, "You trust her that much, huh?"

While Cass would rarely admit it, she did trust Eugene. He was like family, and like family she wanted to kill him a lot of the time. But it hadn't been because she'd known Raps would blab that she'd told him. She'd wanted him to know, so she could look him in the eye and know what kind of person he was. And to maybe get the hurt out of the way early if things had gone bad.

She knew she'd been fortunate, "Being injured was kind of a good excuse for if things went badly. But… I couldn't love someone who didn't respect who I am. And don't take that as me confessing any kind of love for you. At all."

Eugene shivered, "I like our relationship exactly the way it is. Bitter rivals who sometimes get along and trust each other implicitly."

"So. Family?"

"Family."

"I missed you, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"I missed you too."

They both rode in silence for moment longer and then shuddered in unison.

"Blondie can never know we said that."

"Agreed."

"We'd never hear the end of it."

"She'd paint it and then frame it on the wall."

After sleeping a short four hours, they'd pushed on further East. According to Cass's sources they could find the bees under the care of a pair of local beekeepers.

Ornery ones it turned out, as their path was blocked by a one-armed blonde woman with angular, violet eyes. Eugene half-wondered if she was at all related to Hook-hand and Hook-foot, but she didn't have a hook, so probably not. She was attractive too, tall and intimidating, with fantastic tracts of-

"The bees? You're looking for our bees?"

"Yes, the bees," Eugene stared at the young woman, wondering why she was so wary. They weren't here to steal the honey or harm the bees or anything. There was probably a story there. There usually was when someone was that defensive. They just didn't really have the time to hear it.

She narrowed her eyes, "They're our bees, so I'm going to have to ask you _why_ you're so interested in them."

"It's not so much the bees we're interested in," Cassandra explained. "But the honey. Someone used the red lotus flower to poison my friend. I know how to make the antidote, but we need honey from bees that have collected the nectar from that flower. We're happy to pay for it."

Eugene hadn't expected this to be such an issue when they'd arrived, until this woman had blocked their path. In hindsight he probably should have since when did it ever go smoothly?

When the blonde stepped closer he held up both hands, "Easy there, Gargantua, we come in peace."

A dark haired young woman was sitting on the railing of a nearby house reading a book. She closed it with a sigh, "How much do you need?"

"Just a jar." Less than that, actually, but they both wanted to make absolutely sure they had enough. Cassandra glanced at Eugene.

Holding up a pouch, Eugene said, "This entire pouch for one jar."

The blonde stared at it. "That's a _lot_ of money."

"We love her," he replied. Being honest could get them ripped off, God knew he'd taken advantage of honesty plenty of times in his thieving days, but he had to lay it all on the table for Rapunzel, "It's worth the price."

She stared at it a little longer, then glanced back at the other woman, gaze softening, "We just harvested some today. Take the jar and keep the money."

"Thank you." Cassandra followed the other woman inside, leaving Eugene and the blonde standing there.

He smiled at her. "This means everything."

"It's the right thing to do." She looked at him and gave him a sunny smile, then jerked her thumb towards the house, "Besides, if something like that happened to her, I'd be just as desperate."

"Love is funny that way, isn't it."

She smiled, glancing to the side, "It really is."

"How did you two meet?"

Eyeing him warily, she responded, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Eugene folded his arms, "It can't be any weirder than half the things I've done in the past...two months."

All he could do right now was wait for Cass and the other woman anyway.

"I was cursed." She glanced down at the stump of her right arm. "Long story short, she broke it. She saved my life."

"Curses." Eugene winced, "We've dealt with our fair share of those. There was this time an old warlock put a curse on my toe. But sometimes even something that seems like a blessing at first can be a curse."

She smiled, "Sometimes something that seems like a curse can be a blessing. Wait, a curse on your toe?"

"Yeah, you see-" Before Eugene could tell the story, Cassandra and the other girl emerged from the house. Eugene thought they kind of looked alike, though Cass was taller and her hair was shorter.

"Thanks again."

"Good luck." She gave Cass a jar, then moved to stand next to the blonde as Cass returned to her horse and mounted.

"Come on, Eugene, Raps needs us."

"Are you sure you don't want the money?" Eugene climbed onto Maximus, looking back at the women. They were holding hands and he suddenly longed for Rapunzel's hand to be locked with his.

"It's fine, really."

He nodded, and let Maximus set the pace as they left the beekeepers behind.

"You know," Cass said. "If I remember correctly, Queen Arianna has a really big sweet tooth."

Eugene grinned. "Yeah, she does. And something tells me that the honey that saved the Princess might become really popular. They might get really busy."

"I'm only going to say this once in your lifetime, so treasure it: I like how you think, Fitzherbert."

While the trip east had taken them a day and a half, the trip back seemed to take much longer. Neither of them wanted to sleep, and they only stopped for short rests for the horses and to eat. When they talked, it was to discuss Cass's suspect list. Maximus seemed determined to push as hard and far as he could and Eugene was happy to let him. He didn't know if they were actually going faster or slower, but time was running out.

Cass told him it would take her about an hour to make the antidote once they got there, but he was afraid even that might be too long. By the time the castle towers came into view on the horizon, he was nearly dead in the saddle. But they were so close now. He glanced behind him. Cass's mare was struggling to keep up with Maximus.

He slowed, and reached out his hand, "Cass, take Maximus and go, I'll try to catch up."

Nodding, Cass took his hand and they switched places. She checked once (for the thousandth time) for the jar of honey, and then leaned over to say to Maximus, "Rapunzel needs you to run like you've never run before."

Maximus bucked and then took off like a shot. They faded into the distance and Eugene just hoped the effort didn't kill either of them.

The sky was overcast by the time Eugene reached the castle gates, rain threatening to spill out. He tried not to take that as a bad sign, and rushed inside on unsteady legs. If anything happened to Rapunzel, if this didn't work, if she died...

The King was in the hallway near the stairs, pacing. Olaf was pacing too and for some reason that made Eugene worry more. He slowed. "Cass rode ahead. Blondie… is she…?"

"They're up there with her now, with the antidote."

Eugene leaned his hands on his knees and nodded. They weren't out of the woods yet. There was a pressure building behind his eyes and in the back of his head and he _really_ didn't know how much longer he could keep going. But Rapunzel needed him, so he had to stay strong.

Frederick put his hand on Eugene's shoulder. "She'll pull through. She has to. And then we'll find out who did this and I'll personally snap their necks."

"We can just... not tell Rapunzel that last part. I don't think she'd approve," Eugene replied, knowing it was that rare moment when the both of them were in complete agreement on something. Blondie generally frowned on murder but...

"Let's take turns." Cassandra stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking as tired as Eugene felt. "She's going to make it. There's already some color in her cheeks and she ate a little bit. The doctors are optimistic."

Eugene rushed past her, Frederick hot on his heels. Half way up he was ready to die again, "We've _got_ to install some kind of lift system, this is ridiculous."

Somehow, he made it up to the top and didn't fall into Rapunzel's room. Arendelle's doctor was closing up his bag while consulting quietly with Corona's, Queen Ariana sitting at Rapunzel's left hand, holding it. She lifted her eyes, meeting first Eugene's and then her husband's. The relief in her voice was palpable, "She's okay, but asleep."

If he looked at Rapunzel much longer, he was probably going to cry. And Eugene didn't want to cry in front of the king. Or the Queen. And _especially_ not Cass, who was probably slithering back upstairs at this very moment.

Someone pushed him, and he stumbled forward. Arianna took his hand and made him sit next to her, and the king sat across from them. Eugene leaned forward, putting his hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. She really did look better. Some more food and bed rest and she'd be dancing through the halls again. Pascal climbed up his arm and rested on his shoulder, and he gave the chameleon a pat.

The door clicked shut, and he heard Frederick say, "Thank you, Cassandra. I don't know if we would have been able to save her without you."

"Anything for her," Cassandra promised, the Queen giving her a considering look. "Anything."


	17. Wind in Our Hair

This was probably one of Rapunzel's stupider ideas. The sway of the ship was gentle, but still made her queasy; an after affect of the poison she was pretty sure.

She was also pretty sure both Cass and Eugene were going to kill her when she showed her face. It had been her idea that he return to Arendelle with Cass, to help figure out that whole situation with Hans. Of course, she'd intended to stow away the moment she'd suggested it, because it would be a lot easier if Eugene was going. And this way neither of them would get in trouble with her father. She hoped.

"What is this now?"

The voice started her so much she banged her head against the side of the crate she was hiding behind. She looked up to see an affable looking man, his dark skin weathered by the sea. She'd say his eyes were sharp and cunning if it wasn't for the rum-induced glaze.

He peered at her, then pointed, "A-hah! I am seeing what we have here, and what we have here? Is a stowaway."

"I'm not a stowaway," Said the stowaway.

Laughing, he asked, "Do you want to know what we do to stowaways, girl?"

"Throw a party?" Rapunzel suggested hopefully.

"We…" He paused, swaying a little with the ship as it rocked though it wasn't obvious if that was the ocean or the rum bottle in his left hand, "Well I was going to say we throw you overboard into shark infested waters, but a party? That is a _much_ better idea my golden friend."

Rapunzel carefully pulled herself to her feet and brushed her hand at her skirt, "You're not exactly what I pictured for a sailor from Arendelle." He just seemed so _informal_.

"Ah, that is because I am not from Arendelle!"

"But this is one of Arendelle's ships."

"Indeed it is, my young friend." He put his arm around her, guiding her towards the stairs. "A long time ago, but not _that_ long ago, as I am after all still so young and handsome, I met a Captain from Arendelle. She was beautiful, with eyes the color of gunpowder and ah, a disposition to match."

Rapunzel found herself smiling, "So you followed her out of love?"

He stopped abruptly, looking shocked, "What? No. Of course not, are you crazy?" A beat, and then he added, "I lost a bet."

There was something about the way he talked that Rapunzel found endearing. Sure, he was probably drunk and possibly a pirate, but most of her friends were brigands and bandits anyway. Besides, there was something familiar about him. Rapunzel squinted, trying to place why, "Wait. I think I know you."

"What? Impossible! While I have _very_ distinguishing features, I am sure you have _never_ seen me before, in your life!"

"You were the one that delivered the paint!"

He stopped again, turning to face her and putting on injured airs, "I assure you, that I have _never_ , not once in my life, delivered paint to the Princess of Corona."

"It was poisoned!"

"Huh." He tapped his chin, then held up his finger, " _That_ I did not know. I have been used. Used, I say!"

There was an element of sincerity, somewhere deep down, so Rapunzel put her hand on his arm and said, "It's okay. I forgive you."

At that, the man fell silent. Rapunzel was pretty sure that making this man speechless was somehow a first.

The sun was blinding as they came onto deck. Rapunzel could feel the man still behind her, and the first thing she noticed with a large, broad woman with gunpowder eyes and skin not much lighter. The _Admiral_.

She raised her eyebrows and glanced behind her at the man who'd found her, "Found us a Princess, Captain Ohnaka?"

"Well, one does have to inspect the rum," he explained. "And look what I found! Did you know, she had the most wonderful suggestion."

The Admiral clasped her hands behind her back and replied with a long suffering sigh, "We're not selling the Princess to the highest bidder."

"I'm wounded, Admiral. Absolutely _wounded_ that you would even _think_ that that would my suggestion."

"Or getting drunk."

"A _little_ late for that one."

None of that really registered with Rapunzel, because the second thing she'd noticed was Cass staring at her with a mixture of fury and exasperation.

She gave her a sheepish smile, "Hi."

Gritting her teeth, Cassandra swept up to Rapunzel, took her by the arm, and at a nod from the Admiral took her into the Captain's cabin. Rapunzel braced herself.

But Cassandra didn't yell at her. Instead, she slumped against the door with a heavy sigh, "I knew this was going to happen. I should have gone with my gut and suggested you come."

"My dad would have refused," Rapunzel pointed out. "Plus, this way, the blame is on me and not you or Eugene."

"Why?" Cass looked torn between relief and worry.

"You were only in Corona for a few weeks," Rapunzel complained. She wrapped her arms around Cassandra. "I forgot how nice it was, having you around. Besides, _someone_ has to talk to my cousin."

"..Raps."

"I've got to give her the rake talk."

"You mean the shovel talk?"

"Yeah, that!" Rapunzel pulled back, grinning at Cassandra. "I feel really good, I promise. I'm not dizzy anymore. A little queasy, but I can keep food down. I'm almost in tip top shape again!"

"Being on a ship isn't going to help the queasiness," Cassandra scolded. She sighed and shook her head, "And you can't give the _Queen of Arendelle_ a dressing down."

"I'd do that to anyone, it's not my fault you have a royalty kink."

"I'm sorry...do you even know what that... _what_?" Cassandra covered part of her face with her hand, "What the hell have you been up to while I've been gone?"

"Reading books." Rapunzel folded her arms, glancing off to the side, with a devious little smile on her face, "And _other_ things."

Staring blankly at Rapunzel, Cassandra seemed to be considering a variety of scenarios. She grit her teeth, "Excuse me, I need to go push Eugene overboard."

"Haha, funny, no." Rapunzel grabbed Cass's arm as she started to pass her, "Lets not kill my fiance."

"He's clearly a corrupting-your fiance?" _That_ stopped Cass in her tracks, and she turned to look at Raps again. "You said yes."

Rapunzel worried at her lip, shuffling in place a little as she nodded, "It happened a few months ago. We were alone, and he was nervous and fidgety. It was really kind of cute. I asked him what was wrong and he just looked at me with this... open, vulnerable expression."

Not knowing if Cassandra was still looking at her, Rapunzel pulled away and walked around the cabin, "I'd always wanted to say yes. Just… not then, not that first time. Not like that."

Voice tight, Cass answered for her, "You wanted it personal, just the two of you without any grand displays."

"Yes, exactly that!" Rapunzel came back to Cass, taking her hands. "What about you? What do you want?"

"I think Elsa would prefer a low-key proposal, but go all out for the wedding."

"You didn't answer my question."

Cass rolled her eyes, "I'd prefer the low key everything, but I think I can make an allowance for the wedding, if only for her sake and the fact that Arendelle really does love a good party. I can't believe I'm having this conversation…" But it was better than that _other_ thing.

Laughing, Rapunzel pulled Cass into a hug, snuggling into her arms when they wrapped around her. "So you've thought about it."

"Once or twice, my thoughts tend to be really clouded around her.," Cass admitted. "Never felt like it was even remotely possible until.. shortly before we got the news about you."

"I'm really, really sorry." Rapunzel lifted her head to look up at Cass, "Next time someone attempts to murder me I'll make sure you're given more warning."

"Thanks, Raps."

"So tell me all about these clouded thoughts of yours." Rapunzel stepped back a bit, eyes dancing with teasing delight.

Cassandra looked like she was sucking on a lemon.

"I'll share some of mine."

"That's the _last_ thing I want, Raps."

"I could tell you something embarrassing about Eugene."

Cassandra paused, "...Go on."

"He likes to be tied up."

Rapunzel didn't get the reaction from Cassandra that she expected. Instead, Cassandra looked like Rapunzel had just kicked her in the shin, "What? What is it?!"

"I don't know what's worse," Cassandra rasped. "That you know enough about that to say it so confidently or that that's something I can _relate_ to." She suddenly needed a bath.

"Cass, I'm not as naive or innocent as everyone thinks I am." Rapunzel folded her arms, glaring at Cassandra, though she was vaguely aware that most people found it cute when she did that.

"Obviously." Cass sat down in a chair, "It figures, I leave and he makes his move."

"Who said anything about him making the first move?" Rapunzel came over, and plopped herself into Cass's lap, fully aware that a year ago Cass would have done anything for this. She'd had an _interesting_ conversation with her mother before she'd helped her sneak on board. But she kept that to herself.

Closing her eyes, Cass counted backwards from ten, "All right, I won't push him overboard."

"Thank you." She poked her finger into Cass's nose, "I mean it. You know how much I like it when you're both actually getting along."

"He was mad I didn't write," Cassandra admitted. "I don't think that's a mistake I'll make a second time."

"Good. You _did_ send those letters to Elsa though, right?" Rapunzel lifted her eyebrows.

"All three of them," Cassandra promised. She looped her arms around Rapunzel's waist. "Now, you've _got_ to give me something better than _rope_."

Rapunzel twirled a strand of hair, "Who said anything about _rope_?"

One of Cass's eyes twitched.

"How about I trade you, one for one?"

"Deal."

"What are you going to do first, when you see her?" Rapunzel reclined on the railing of the bow, one foot dangling off the side.

Leaning next to her, Cass tried to make out Arendelle in the distance. It was impossible, of course, they were still an hour or two away from sighting land. But she was getting antsy.  
"Make sure she's okay. I can't help but feel your being poisoned is related to the attempts on her life. Hans can't be working alone."

"You think it was a way to get you out of the kingdom." Rapunzel got a determined look on her face. She didn't like being someone's pawn.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Cass admitted. "And it worked."

"Ah! Ladies!"

Cass rolled her eyes as she turned in the direction of the voice, "Captain."

"Soon." He spread his hands out, "Soon we will once again behold our beautiful home. Ah, Arendelle, how I've missed you."

"You're not even from Arendelle originally."

"Neither are you, my friend. Yet you are as enamoured with our queen and her magic hands as much as the rest of us!"

Rapunzel covered her mouth, snorting so hard she nearly fell off the railing.

"Yes, well…" There was no help from Rapunzel and Eugene was conspicuously absent. Cass would have to deal with this one on her own. "I guess I can understand how one can come to find a new home."

Rapunzel squeezed Cass's shoulder, "Was that so hard to admit?"

Ohnaka leaned on the railing near Cassandra. He looked between the two of them, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

She gave Rapunzel a guilty look, "Corona will always be home too, I promise."

"What matters is you being _happy_." Rapunzel hopped off the railing, spinning around on her bare toes. "Among _other_ things."

"What would these 'other' things be, I wonder?"

Cass shot Ohnaka a look, "Nothing you need to worry about."

He held up his hands. "I am just a humble servant of the crown."

Taking his arm as she slipped past him, Rapunzel said, "Weren't you going to show me how to do the saily thing?"

"Of course, of course." He gave Rapunzel his most charming smile. "Now, I have been doing this for many long years, but with my instruction you shall become almost as good as Captain Ohnaka! First, we will need to start with _knots_. You'll want to know how to tie a rope, there's a storm coming. I can feel it."

"Oh my god." Cass muttered, turning back to the sea.

"Cassandra."

She looked up at the Admiral, straightening on some instinct, "Yes ma'am?"

"No need for ma'am when it's just the two of us." She smiled at her, cocking her hip, "At least when Ohnaka isn't around."

Cass grimaced, "Where did you even pick him up, Melinda?"

"He's a good sailor, if a little liberal with the law on occasion. It's a long story," she replied, with another long suffering and yet somehow _fond_ sigh. "I'll tell you sometime. Maybe the next time we go camping with my sister. She should be back from Tamrac by the time we get home."

"I'd like that." Cass turned her gaze back to the horizon. "I just can't help feeling like something is wrong."

"Sure you're not just getting excited about seeing the Queen again?"

There was something in Melinda's voice that made Cass snap her head back in her direction. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Mm, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean." She folded her arms, fixing Cassandra with a heavy gaze, "I'm sure you of all people are aware of how much servants and staff know."

 _Shit._ "And they've been gossiping?"

"Mostly among themselves. But I'm friends with a few of 'em." Melinda took a place on the railing next to Cass. "I believe he said that you two, and I quote, 'have been making googly-eyes at each other for months.'"

Cass briefly considered swimming the rest of the way home, and Melinda laughed as she clapped a heavy hand on her back. "You should see the expression on your face."

"At least it's not googly-eyes," she muttered.

Melinda started to say something, only to trail off as she realized how dark the sky was getting in the distance. The wind was picking up the closer they sailed, and the temperature was falling noticeably. Ohnaka shouted orders to prepare for a storm.

Cass felt like her heart was going to stop, "Admiral, just how fast can this ship go?"

Melinda's expression was grim. That told Cass everything. Not fast enough. Especially in that storm as snow started to fall. "You and the Princess will probably ignore me if I tell you to get below deck, so find her and find a way to make yourselves useful."

Thinking that was much better than focusing on the gnawing worry in her stomach, Cassandra saluted, and ran for Rapunzel.


	18. The Return of Hans

Anna had been in town when everything went sideways. It was supposed to be a good day, and it _had_ been. She'd done a little shopping and chatted with some of her subjects. Anna was the approachable one, and while they'd made inroads into making people feel comfortable approaching Elsa, Anna's warmth and energy drew people to her. She didn't really mind. After most of her life spent locked away, she had been _so_ ready to open her arms and let everyone in.

So of course she'd tried to put herself in the line of fire. Well equipped mercenaries had come from three different directions, and Anna had tried to get the people she was with to safety. To protect them and defend them. But she hadn't expected them to _fight_ for her. She hadn't asked them to _die_ for her.

She'd ran, because they'd asked her to, _begged_ her to escape. She could still hear the screams of a man cut down. There was blood coating her dress from a child she'd carried to safety, more blood, from the man who'd died passing the child to her. And then she'd run again, not knowing if he'd be okay but knowing that if she stayed near him, stayed near _anyone_ , they'd become targets too.

It would be easy enough to crawl into a hole somewhere and give up, or at least hide until it was safe. It was be easy, but it wouldn't be right.

Anna gripped a greatsword and though she was alone she didn't feel it. Not with a line of citizens and guards fighting for Arendelle. Fighting for _her_. But she was tired of running. Her people were dying and she wanted to help them. There were just so many mercenaries that she didn't know where to go.

If she could find Elsa they could figure out a plan. The one thing that Anna knew for sure was that this attack was timed too well. Cass was gone, and so was Melinda, the Admiral. General Marian should have been back by now from her trip to Tamrac but Anna had a sinking feeling in her gut that she'd been delayed. Probably by the same people who'd gotten Cassandra to leave the country. Was her cousin even ill?

Anna came to a stop, glancing around as she tried to figure out what to do and where to go. She'd gotten a little turned around.

A mercenary jumped out at her and she ducked out of the way, spinning around and bringing the full force and momentum of her sword into her leg. She felt the flesh and the muscle give, the impact running right up through her arms and the sound nauseating her. The woman's eyes met hers, before she fell to the side and the sword clattered to the ground as Anna stumbled against the side of a building and stared. There was so much blood. The sword had gone into the bone just above the woman's knee.

"Oh god." This was _nothing_ like training, and Anna wasn't sure if the mercenary deserved this. So she did what any reasonable person would do when her kingdom was under attack and someone had just tried to kill her; she dropped to the ground next to her and started ripping up the skirt of her dress. "I'm sorry, please don't die."

Cassandra had made her learn first aid. She'd planned to teach everyone in the castle but only Anna and some of the staff had had a chance before Cass had left for Corona.

"What are you…"

"Shh. I'm trying to work here." Okay, step one was stop the bleeding. Really that was steps one through ten because the woman needed a surgeon and every time Anna looked at the wound she wanted to throw up. Bones belonged on the _inside_ of the body.

"Uh, here, chew on this." She shoved a wadded up piece of fabric into the woman's mouth, then wrapped strips of fabric above the wound and tightened them as hard as she could. Even with the fabric in her mouth, the mercenary's scream turned Anna's stomach. A doctor she was not.

"I'm just gonna...stuff this," Anna said, shredding her dress even more to try to pad the wound and wrap it. "So, what's your name?"

At the muffled reply, Anna pulled the wad of fabric out of her mouth. There wasn't much more she could do anyway. The woman mumbled something, and Anna patted her cheek, "Hey, stay with me. If you fall asleep I don't know if you'll wake up and I really don't think you want that and let's be honest I don't want that on my conscience either."

The sky was darkening, and snow had started to fall. Anna looked up at it, "Oh that's really not good." But maybe if she packed the wound with snow it would buy the woman some time.

"I think you'll have other things to worry about."

Anna felt something metal and pointy pressed into the back of her neck as another woman spoke in a soft, firm voice.

"Stand."

Slowly, Anna stood.

"Turn around."

She obeyed, keeping her hands up, turning to see a bronze skinned woman with long red hair and fiery green eyes. She was dressed like the rest of the mercenaries, with a simple grey tabard over well cared for and expensive looking armor. The wind was picking up, and Anna wondered if Elsa was out of control. Or if she was deliberately using this storm against the attackers to provide cover. There was a fine balance so that Arendelle didn't suffer more than it already had.

In the distance behind the woman, she could barely make out a ship approaching. Too far and too dark from the clouds to tell her who the ship belonged to, but she hoped it was who she thought it was. They needed all the help they could get.

Castle. Got to get to the castle, got to find Elsa, got to find Kristoff, but first Anna had to get out of the situation she found herself in. "You know, maybe you should help your friend here and I'll go get a doctor, how does that sound?"

"I've got a better deal. Come with me, and we'll retreat."

"How can I trust you to keep your word?"

"You can't. But more of your people are going to be hurt the longer you delay, and the worse this storm will get. If you think that your people won't be hurt in this storm?" She smiled, "You're a fool."

"All right, but.." Anna gestured helplessly at the woman on the ground, "We've got to do something for her."

"We leave her."

The injured woman lifted her head off the ground, her voice plaintive, "Milady..?"

The redhead shot her a warning look, then grabbed Anna by the elbow. "Lets go."

She'd been blindfolded and thrown onto a horse, so Anna didn't know where she'd gone, but she could hazard a few guesses from the chatter.

In her own fit of rebellion and to avoid thinking about that soldier, she tried to chat them up, "Lovely weather we're having. It's a category three Elsa and _boy_ do you _not_ want to see her at a category five. This one time, I tried playing a prank on her and she froze my shoes to the floor."

She was greeted with silence, and sighed, "I mean, she'd never actually hurt me, you know, and I was able to take my shoes off easily enough. Which when you think about it is really good growth for her, considering she used to freak out if she so much as made it get chilly around me."

Still silence, and Anna turned her head in the direction of where she thought one of the mercenaries was. The redhead. The commander, she thought, "Sooo how much is Hans paying you? Because I'll totally pay you more."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," the woman answered.. "But we wouldn't get that much work if we were known for being easily bribed."

"Well, I _kind_ of had to try," Anna said.

Someone rode close to the woman and Anna strained to hear them. While they spoke in quiet tones, Anna got the gist of it. Their band had lost ten of their number in the attack on Arendelle. She couldn't tell if that was a lot. It felt like a lot.

"You're lucky we want you alive," the woman growled and Anna thought that yes, that had been a lot.

"Take that up with Hans. I'm sure he'll give you hazard pay." Anna rubbed her hands against the mane of the horse she was riding, to hide the shaking. One of those ten might have been because of her. She just hoped that the others had been taken down by guards and not her sister. She hoped the one she'd hurt had made it. It seemed so cruel to just leave her behind, but maybe Arendelle's doctors could do something.

It was another hour of riding before the storm subsided, and two more after that before they finally came to a stop.

Someone helped her off of the horse, and removed the blindfold. Sitting on a rock above her was Hans. Rage bubbled up inside her, and she clenched her fists to keep it contained.

"Princess Anna, it's been quite awhile." He stood, giving her a mocking bow, "You look good in red. Unfortunate encounter?"

"You know, I didn't think it was possible, but you're even worse than the last time I saw you." She brushed herself off and folded her arms. "Regicide is one thing, but hurting innocent people?"

She watched as Hans climbed down. Maybe he'd come close enough for her to _hit_ him.

But he didn't, so she just glared at him. "What even is your plan here? Arendelle will never follow you now. You have to know that. This _can't_ be all about revenge."

"It's war, Anna. People die. But yes, it's mostly about revenge. And I've made a deal that will set me up quite nicely in another kingdom."

War? Anna mouthed. With who?

Hans brushed some nonexistent dirt from his collar. "First, I'm going to make Elsa watch you die, and _then_ I'm going to kill her. And it will be so easy without her so-called Royal Protector around to get in the way."

"Cass won't be gone forever."

"If, by some miracle she figures out the cure to the poison I had slipped to Princess Rapunzel, there's no way that she'll make it back to Arendelle in time. Or alive." Hans gestured towards the coast, "A tragic accident. Cassandra "falls" overboard, another victim of the sea."

Anna stared at him. If either her or Cass died (or god, both) she wasn't sure that anything on earth would stop Elsa from tearing Hans apart and then turning the whole planet into an ice cube. As it was, _she_ wanted to tear Hans apart, for the people who'd been hurt because of him. Her cousin, her subjects, herself. All of them.

She turned her head, glancing at the mercenaries, "Are you even hearing this? Is this really worth the money he's paying you?"

The redhead shook her head, "That's the thing. He's not paying me."

There was a rustling of fabric as she removed her tabard, plus the sound of many feet on the rocks above them. Anna looked around. There were _so many_ soldiers and they all wore clean, neat armor. The woman wore neatly pressed armor as well, with the royal crest of Feronda emblazoned on her chest. A starburst over an open hand.

"Oh my god," Anna whispered. Everything suddenly made so much sense. The skill of the assassins, the number of mercenaries and how well equipped they'd been.

How Hans had been able to afford _everything_.

Hans stepped up next to the redhead, sliding his arm around her, "Like I said, Queen Ava and I made a deal."

The Queen gave Hans a disgusted look, but Anna felt as though the world was spinning around her. By letting herself be captured she might as well have handed them Elsa on a silver platter. And by extension, all of Arendelle.


	19. A Sister Scorned

Giant spikes of ice had burst from the ground, trapping the mercenaries inside a cage. They were lucky. Elsa could very easily have impaled each and every one of them and as the full extent of the attack became obvious a part of her wished she had.

Slowly, she let the storm abate, swallowing her anger as she saw the ship nearing dock. Relief surged through her, momentarily sapping her and making her limbs feel heavy. She started towards the dock, coming to a stop in the city square, ordering her people to set up an area to tend the wounded. One of the wounded was a mercenary, a doctor with a saw already tending to her.

Unable to watch, she made her way down towards the ship. She'd recovered by the time she saw Cassandra and heedless of anyone who might be watching let herself be swept up in a hug and kissed soundly. After not seeing her in so long, after the attack and seeing all those wounded, Elsa wanted just a moment to forget. Everything else faded away, and she was lost in Cassandra until someone cleared their throat.

"This is wonderful. Spectacular! When do I get paid?"

Elsa pulled away from Cass in time to see Rapunzel elbow a man with Captain's colors on his shoulder. She quirked her eyebrow at him.

Ohnaka clutched his chest like he'd been shot, "Oh. Oh that is truly as devastating as they say!"

"Knock if off." Melinda strode past him, "Your highness, I'm glad to see you're all right."

Elsa nodded at her, "I am. Arendelle is not without losses though. I have most of the attackers caged, but many guards and soldiers have been injured or killed, and some of the citizens, too."

Cassandra looked like she was about to say something, but was interrupted by a lone reindeer galloping down the street. Kristoff was slung over his back, unconscious and bleeding from the temple, a note nailed to his shoulder.

"Kristoff!" Elsa rushed over, and together with Cass she got him off of Sven. She recognized the handwriting on the note, even as Cassandra carefully removed the nail from Kristoff's body. Olaf took Kristoff's hand, patting it, but said nothing. Maybe nothing seemed appropriate to him, right now.

Ice collected around Elsa's hands and wrapped around her heart. Her voice shook with rage, the air growing noticeably chilly, "Hans has Anna."

Standing, Cassandra took the note from Elsa, then took her hand. "He won't have her for long. He wants you to meet him out in the mountains. He'll even 'allow' you an honor guard."

Somehow, Elsa stopped herself before Arendelle faced an arctic blizzard again. She took one breath, then two and then kept on breathing. "Admiral, I need to leave Arendelle in your care. See to Kristoff and the other wounded."

"Where's General Marian?"

She gave Melinda a sympathetic look, "There's been no word from your sister since she left for Tamrac. I'm sorry."

Melinda nodded, expression grim. "She's tough. She'll get here even if she has to go through an army to do it. She'll probably have to."

"We're going with you," Rapunzel took Eugene's hand and stepped forward, some fierce emotion in her eyes. "That man tried to have me killed and he's hurt so many people already. I won't stand for it."

"Raps," Cassandra started, trailing off when Elsa held up her hand.

"Okay, you both can come." If she was honest with herself, she would have taken Kristoff too, except he was in no condition to be able to help. Elsa pointed at them, "You two, myself and Cass."

She gestured towards two of the guards. Elsa knew the names of every single guard in her service. She spoke to them regularly. She knew their families. These two were regular fixtures at the castle, "Guard Captain Jo, Caroline, you're with us."

Melinda nodded her head towards the Captain, "Take Ohnaka with you."

Ohnaka held up his hands, "My beautiful, most skilled admiral, surely I can be of much more use here, assisting the wounded and hunting down more of these traitorous dogs who have attacked our fair country! It would be much better than facing this, what was his name, Hands? Pah."

Her look was withering, but Ohnaka looked unperturbed until Rapunzel took his hand.

"Please? We could use your help."

Hip lips thinned out and then he heaved a dramatic sigh, "Fine, yes yes of course, twist my arm, I will go!"

"And I thought _we_ were whipped," Cass whispered to Eugene.

Eugene shrugged, "She just has that effect on people."

It was an effect Elsa hoped would help them with Hans. But even if Rapunzel hadn't volunteered, she still would have wanted her help. Though it had taken many months, Cass had eventually shared some of her adventures with Rapunzel and Eugene and Rapunzel seemed unstoppable.

They were just the kind of people that she knew would throw Hans and whatever plans he had off. She cleared her throat, "It will take time for us to get there. You all have an hour to get ready. I want everyone armed and wearing something protective."

"What'll you do when we catch him?"

Elsa's eyes slid over to Cass, and she said, "He was so kind to show me how my own dungeons felt. I want to see how much he likes it."

And they could figure out everything else after Anna was safe.

She felt a tug on her hand, and looked down at Olaf. He looked up at her, "Will Anna be okay?"

"Yes. She will." Elsa knelt, enveloping Olaf in her arms, "I'm not going to let that monster destroy our family."

Elsa's blizzard had covered much of the tracks that Hans's mercenaries had left behind, but she didn't really need a trail to follow. Hans had picked a spot near the Eastern border. It would be visible from her Ice Palace, but the detour would be too far to make it useful for scouting - or adding Marshmallow to her entourage.

A snow monster would be handy, and Elsa briefly considered making some kind of snow soldier. Maybe one with wings who could fly, like a Valkyrie of myth. But there was a certain level of responsibility with creating life, and she sometimes felt really bad about Marshmallow being up there all alone. At least he had a whole lot of mini-snowmen to keep him company now and Olaf visited him from time to time. She hoped he was content.

"Could you not simply make an ice army?" Captain Ohnaka waved his hand, and Elsa was positive he was at least half way into his cups, even though she hadn't seen him so much as sip from a flask.

Still, she answered truthfully and without bragging, "Yes, I could. But what do I do after I no longer need that army?"

He shrugged vaguely, "Make it melt?"

"Would that be right, though?" Elsa was less answering him than she was voicing her own thoughts on the matter, "To create something that's alive. That might have a soul, like Olaf. And then when I'm done using them destroy them. How different would that be from murder?"

"Then don't melt them," Rapunzel suggested. "Let them live!"

"Live where? Do what? Wouldn't that be slavery?" Elsa looked down at her hands. "And how much of myself would I lose creating them? No. I will use my powers to protect Arendelle but I won't make an army of snow monsters to do it."

"Sounds like a slippery slope, anyway," Eugene commented, earning a glare from Cassandra for his trouble. "What? That was a good one, admit it."

Elsa laughed, sweeping her cape behind her as she started up the mountain pass. With the weight of worry about her sister and her _anger_ at Hans and the situation, she'd needed that laugh.

"I don't like this." Cass moved to walk in step with Elsa, a sword on her left hip and her favorite axe on her right. "This is a bad position."

"It's obviously a trap," Elsa replied, letting her hand brush against Cassandra's. "But we don't really have a choice."

Cass frowned, looking up as they moved. To their left, there was an abrupt drop, and to their right there were plenty of places for someone to hide in ambush.

"What we _need_ is a plan," Rapunzel said.

"The best plan is to turn _right_ around and go the other way," Ohnaka declared. "Now, I am no coward, but I know rough seas when I see them. There is no coming out of this with all of us _alive_. And I like most of you."

"Running away isn't a plan." Cass punched her fist into her palm. With the path getting narrower they'd have to move single file. "El, I want you to go last, until the path opens up again. That way you can see an attack coming and put up ice walls."

She pointed at Eugene, "You in front of her."

Elsa, Eugene, Jo, Rapunzel, Caroline, Ohnaka, and then herself in the lead. It wasn't like Ohnaka would push her off the edge or something.

"Okay." Elsa agreed with the plan, and Cass was the Royal Protector. This kind of thing she excelled at and Elsa felt like Cass was one of the best chances they had of getting to Anna without anyone being hurt. She didn't miss the look exchanged between Cass and Eugene, though, but she kept her observation to herself.

Eventually they reached an trail that led down into a mountain valley. It was too high up for anything but pines, and the landscape was dotted with boulders. Elsa used her magic to move the snow out of their way, wanting to avoid the sound of crunching feet, even as she kept an eye out for sudden attacks.

Cass had them move into lines of two when the path widened, keeping Eugene near Elsa and a guard with Rapunzel. In hindsight, it probably hadn't been the best idea to bring the heir to one country and the leader of another on a dangerous mission, but it was too late for regrets.

The path rose again, until they were surrounded by high, rocky walls on both sides. Elsa didn't like this. Hans had the high ground, so she decided to even the odds. "Everyone stand still."

Tapping her foot on the ground, Elsa created a wall of ice beneath them. It rose, carrying them up to the tops of the rocky walls. She barely got a barrier up in time to stop several arrows from hitting them.

"Clever," Hans said, hopping off of a boulder. He held his hands up, "Lower your weapons! Lower your weapons. We're not going to hurt anyone unless they force our hand."

Elsa waited until no more arrows were pointed at them before she brought down the ice barrier. It took all her control not to turn Hans into a permanent ice sculpture, "Where's Anna!"

A red-haired woman brought a bound and gagged Anna out. At first, Anna looked injured, but the blood didn't appear to be hers. Elsa frowned and then her eyes widened when she recognize who was holding her. While she'd never seen Queen Ava in person, she knew the royal crest of Ava's kingdom, and had seen her in paintings.

Cass said what Elsa was thinking, "This is an act of war."

"Yes, of cour-." Hans cut himself off, "Ohnaka? What are you doing here? I paid you to _kill_ them!"

"Ah," Ohnaka offered him a shrug. "What can I say? Princess Rapunzel is _much_ prettier than you. Not as pretty as I, of course, but I am a sucker for a beautiful smile."

Cass turned her head and glared briefly at Ohnaka before returning her attention to Hans and Queen Ava's soldiers.

"We're here," Elsa interrupted. "Release my sister."

"I don't really think you're in a position to negotiate," Hans replied, waving the point of his sword in Anna's direction. "Here's what's going to happen. You're all going to lay down your weapons, and you, your highness, will put on those bindings."

One of the Ferondan soldiers lifted up shackles that were frighteningly similar to the ones Elsa had last worn.

"If you don't," Hans continued. "I'll run Anna through."

Anna shook her head violently, kicking back at Ava's shin and then stumbling forward. Her gag came loose just enough for her words to be understandable, "Don't! He wants to kill us both!"

Elsa held her hands out, bring walls of ice between them and the archers as Cassandra darted forward. Ava was somehow faster, moving between Anna and Cassandra almost like lightning. She parried a strike from Cassandra's sword, twisted around and then kicked her in the gut towards a trio of soldiers.

To her right, Elsa saw Rapunzel dodging out of the way of the swing of an axe. Another came from behind and would have certainly remove Rapunzel's head, but Captain Jo moved in the way, blocking it with her sword. She sidestepped another strike then parried high. Kicking the soldier away, she turned back to Rapunzel, pushing her out of the way as an arrow struck her in the chest.

Elsa grabbed Eugene's arm and shoved him in her cousin's direction before turning to the other guard. Caroline stood there, stunned, watching as her captain dropped to her knees and then fell over. Elsa shook her, fighting down her own emotions, "I need you to sneak away and take down those archers."

Caroline nodded, expression hardening.

Elsa raised more walls of ice, then converted them to mist, hoping to give enough cover to get Caroline out of the immediate battle, before stalking towards Hans, her ice sword in hand. Jo wasn't the first to die today, but she would be the last. If she'd used the full extent of her power, she could have killed every last Ferondan soldier with no harm coming to her people. Freeze their blood, impale them on ice, bring down the full fury of a Scandinavian winter.

But Elsa wasn't that kind of person. Maybe, someday, she'd have to be. But maybe that's why she had Cassandra, to be ruthless for her.  
She was close enough to Hans that she could have easily taken him, but he pressed the tip of his sword against Anna's back. Elsa froze, and looked for help. Rapunzel and Eugene were busy with a trio of soldiers, a satisfied expression crossing Eugene's face when Rapunzel smacked one in the head with a frying pan. But Cassandra... Cass had been backed to the edge of a cliff, her heel hanging over thin air.

And now Elsa was faced with the very real possibility she'd only be able to save Anna or Cass, but not both. Her blood ran cold, and she wondered if she could freeze Hans and the soldiers fast enough to save everyone.

"Save your sister," Cass called out, drawing her axe with her off hand. "I'll be fine! Kind of got myself into this mess anyway. I'll get myself out."

Elsa looked at Anna and Hans again. She knew without asking that Cass wouldn't make her choose between her and Anna. That she'd willingly sacrifice herself so Elsa wouldn't _have_ to make that choice, or so she wouldn't have to do something terrible she'd regret for the rest of her life.

But she couldn't lose Cass, just like she couldn't lose Anna, or Kristoff.

Holding her hands out pleadingly, Elsa said, "Please don't do this. Let's end this now, before anyone else gets killed."

"Please, keep begging. It looks good on you," Hans said, drawing his sword back. "But I want you to know, there's no such thing as true love."

The bindings holding Anna shattered as Elsa closed her fingers into a fist. Anna stumbled forward, Cass throwing the axe to her.

"Yes!" Anna caught the axe, turning and swinging it hard enough to snap Hans's sword in two. Another wall of ice cut off Hans's escape as Anna chased him down. The axe hit the ice near his head, shards bloodying his face. Any attempts for the soldiers to help him were blocked by Rapunzel or Eugene.

"Now _that's_ true love," Cass declared, wobbling dangerously on the edge as the soldiers advanced on her.

Satisfied that Anna had Hans controlled, Elsa rushed to Cass, only to have Queen Ava block her path.

She lifted her sword, "Ava, we can end this here and now or we can let this turn into a full scale war. You _can't_ trust Hans. He'll betray you eventually. He isn't worth a war."

"You live on our doorstep and wield impossible power. What's to stop you from marching in and killing us all with your magic? I made this choice for my people. It's war no matter what happens now. If not here, then civil war back home if I fail."

"Civil war in Feronda?" Elsa looked confused. Surely she'd have heard something about unrest. One of her advisers would have said something. _Cass_ would have known. "How does failing here mean civil war?"

"Not everyone has a good relationship with their _siblings_." Ava darted forward, swinging her sword low. The weapon slowed, then stopped before it reached Elsa as ice encased the foreign Queen up to her neck.

"Working with someone like Hans, in secret, and attacking another country under false colors?" Elsa asked, hitting Queen Ava in her forehead with the hilt of her sword, "I'm not sure I'd blame your siblings for thinking a regime change is in order." She let the ice melt, dropping the unconscious Queen to the ground as she rushed to Cass.

Cass's position was precarious. It would be _so_ easy to simply kill them all, freeze their hearts or spear them through. It would have been easy to let herself go from the start. But that would make her no better than Hans, make her the monster he claimed. Elsa froze the soldiers' feet to the ground, then cleared a path for Cass to get away.

"Come on, we've got to help your sister and probably stop her from killing Hans."

"Anna isn't a killer," Elsa replied, but she followed Cass as the Royal Protector leapt into battle. Elsa took a moment to admire her, before searching for the others. She spied Eugene and Rapunzel running from one side. Ohnaka came down from where the archers had been positioned, carrying Caroline's body in his arms. Most of the Ferondan soldiers had fled, leaving their Queen behind. Two more people to bury, Elsa thought. How was she going to prevent more graves?

Anna had Hans cornered, ranting and cursing as she swung her axe at him repeatedly. He could barely keep from losing his head or a limb with what was left of his sword and for just a moment Elsa wanted to let Anna finish him off. Just for a moment.

"Anna, stop!" Elsa rushed towards her, dodging between the few remaining Ferondan soldiers as Rapunzel tied them up. "Don't be like him!"

And Anna stopped mid swing, looking back at Elsa.

"Funny. The monster being the one to say that," Hans said.

Something inside Elsa snapped and a razor sharp barbed vine of ice shot from her hand towards Hans. It swerved around Anna, impaling him through his left shoulder and making him jerk back against the ice wall. She'd just missed his heart.

Lowering the axe, Anna scowled at him, "The only monster here is you."

She turned towards Elsa, smiling hauntedly at her before noticing Rapunzel, "Wow, what are you guys doing here?"

Hans suddenly let out a choked, watery sound. Anna turned around and Elsa saw him standing just behind her sister. He was holding a jagged spear of ice over his head, broken off from his shoulder.

Cass's sword protruded from his chest, the point glistening with blood. She pushed him off of it and he fell face first onto the ground.


	20. The Aftermath

There was a fine line between revenge and fair payback. Though some of Elsa's advisors had wanted a more hard line stance, the Queen had no desire for such retribution. Arendelle and Corona had both cut off trade for the foreseeable future and were angling to get other allies to follow suit and Elsa feared that a harsher reaction would only cause problems down the line. As it was, the consequences would take years to sort out.

But Queen Ava had acted without the knowledge of her court and while she had the right to do so as Queen, Cassandra was positive that Queen Ava would return home to a very unwelcoming court. Between having to sign a new treaty with Queen Elsa or risk open warfare (and the attack itself), Feronda was not going to be happy with their Queen. All Elsa could do was let them sort out their own internal matters.

Still, Cass worried that that might come back to bite them in the end. Cass worried about a lot of things; Feronda, if not counter-attacking made them weak in the eyes of other nations, if the Southern Isles really _weren't_ going to air grievances over Hans's death, if Elsa should have unleashed her full power, but it at least kept her mind off of the things she would rather avoid thinking about. Kissing Elsa in full view of… everyone.

Killing a man.

General Marian had returned in time to escort the Ferondans back to the border, her delay having been yet another arrangement by Hans to weaken Elsa further. She stood next to her sister, tall and thin in stark contrast to the Admiral's broadness.

"What should we do about Captain Ohnaka?" The Admiral's tone remained neutral as she addressed one of the elephants in the room.

"Eh, I forgave him." Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders, "Hans used him. He didn't know the paint was poisoned and I'm not going to tell dad about that."

"He was supposed to push me overboard," Cass pointed out.

"But he didn't." Rapunzel folded her arms, "How different is he from Attila or Vlad or Big Nose?"

Eugene started to say something, then changed his mind and shrugged, "You know what? I got nothing."

"I'd demote him or landlock him for awhile," Melinda said. "But that'll only encourage him to get into trouble. If we were actually at war I'd suggest a Letter of Marque."

That was … actually not a bad idea and Cass found herself nodding along. A blockade might not be a bad idea either, though Feronda only had one port on a river that led to the sea. Actually, that would make a blockade really easy and relatively cheap.

"Let's table the idea of piracy for now." Elsa held up her hands, "Queen Ava will have plenty to deal with anyway, and enough people have died. For now, we'll watch our borders and lick our wounds."

Cass watched her with a smile as everyone started to leave and Elsa looked back at her with a mirrored expression on her face.

"You know, I really hated the idea of you leaving," Rapunzel said, sliding in on Cass's right. "But I'm so glad my mom suggested the idea now."

"She…" At a loss, Cass shrugged, "Well I guess she must have figured I was in need of a career change."

"Yeah, a career change," Eugene remarked, folding his arms and giving her a smug look. "Totally the reason she talked you into being Rapunzel's handmaiden and then suggested you move to Arendelle."

Cass shot him a look, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Eugene smirked at Cass's glaring expression, "What do you think?"

It was Anna who replied, blurting out, "Queen Arianna wrote me a letter. Not the one that was like, your resume. But like, a different letter."

GIving her sister a suspicious look as she joined them, Elsa asked, "Anna, what are you talking about?"

Darting her eyes, Anna stretched her arms up in an exaggerated fashion as she started to back away, "I _really_ should go check on Kristoff, and I wanted to swing by the healer and see how that Ferondan lady I hurt is doing."

"Anna!"

GIving them a little wave of her fingers, Anna turned around and started to run.

"Why do I have the feeling like I've been set up," Cassandra wondered, looking between Elsa and Rapunzel and finding she didn't actually _mind_. It was kind of nice having the two people she loved most in the world in the same room, and as Cass looked at Rapunzel she realized it didn't _hurt anymore. She felt light, warm and welcome. Happy. She swallowed her emotions before they embarrassed her._

 _"Probably because you're so hopeless that my mother decided it was her personal mission to find you happiness," Rapunzel chirped, wrapping her arms around Eugene's and leaning into him. "I guess we're lucky you and Elsa hit it off."_

 _Cass didn't know what to say to that and she was certain that she hadn't deserved it even before there'd been blood on her hands. Or maybe she deserved the happiness(everyone did), but all that effort? Just for her? It seemed disproportionate to her importance in the grand scheme of things. Finally, as Elsa slipped her arm around her, she responded, those emotions starting to escape with her voice, "I think we both needed a friend, and I wouldn't be surprised if she'd hoped it would grow to something more."_

 _"Didn't it?" Rapunzel smiled at her, "And it all worked out anyway."_

 _"Yeah, I guess it did." Cass leaned against Elsa, almost sagging against her. But it was just the four of them now, the people she trusted most in the world and the keepers of her heart. There was still so much work to do, and so much to clean up, but she needed a moment. Maybe a few, to decompress, once everything was taken care of. To feel weak, to feel human. She thought that Rapunzel could use one too, perhaps some time with just the two of them and Eugene. Rapunzel was strong, but watching someone die for you wasn't easy and the girl tended to internalize that sort of thing._

 _Yes, she'd talk to Rapunzel about that, and even, she swore, talk to Elsa about killing Hans. But for now, Cass was going to enjoy this moment with the people she loved._

 _That even included Eugene._

"I just feel… awful," Anna said, rubbing her arm. She'd been standing at the doorway when Elsa arrived, staring at the rows and rows of wounded.

Gently, Elsa put her hand on Anna's back and guided her inside. "They attacked us. Injuries happen, you were just defending yourself."

But instead of guiding Anna over to the Ferondan, Elsa chose to visit with Arendelle's wounded, first. To remind Anna, and herself, of what they'd fought for.

There were dozens. Guards and soldiers, and a few of the townsfolk who'd either been in the wrong place or had tried to defend themselves. It could have been a lot worse: The list of the dead wasn't as long as it could have been, though Elsa had plans to make arrangements for a memorial service. She didn't look forward to writing _that_ speech even though she knew she must. For a moment, she cast a prayer to her parents, hoping they'd be proud of her for surviving this, her second serious challenge as Queen.

Some people were going to want blood, and as they met with each of the wounded, Elsa could understand why. But the last thing she wanted was more wounded, and more dead. Did that make her weak? Would her father understand her hesitation? She had no answer to the question of what he'd have done, and Elsa could only do what Elsa would do.

She'd have to have more discussions with her Royal Protector, Admiral, and General. Elsa was going to have a busy few weeks.

The Ferondan was the last they visited, and she stood by to give her sister space as Anna approached her. She tried to get a read on the woman's mood, but she'd lost a leg and been captured by another country. Elsa doubted she was feeling receptive.

Anna sat down next to her, fingers fidgeting in her skirts. "Uh. Hi. I'm Princess Anna, and I wanted to check on you."

The woman turned her head to look at her, "Hello."

It wasn't the most chilly greeting Elsa had heard, but it wasn't that warm either. Anna looked like she wanted to launch into another apology, but the woman put her hand on her arm. Bitterness tinged her words and her voice hitched at the end, "I'm getting more concern from your people than from my own Queen."

Anna swallowed, "I'm sorry."

"I served her for years. I tended to her every need, I went to war even when … and she didn't even visit me before she left."

Elsa felt her heart tighten and she leaned against the doorframe, sensing something painfully familiar in the woman's voice. She couldn't imagine ever leaving Cass behind, not unless Cass told her to. And even then...

The woman let go of Anna's arm and looked down at her leg, "Look, I know you mean well, but can you come back some other time?"

"Y-yeah." Anna got up, edging past one of the doctors. She grabbed Elsa by the elbow, pulling her back outside and sagging against the wall.

Elsa simply wrapped her arms around her sister, "She's been through a lot, Anna. Give her time."

"I just… I don't know." Anna frowned, "I guess it's stupid to try to make friends with her."

"That will probably take some time," Elsa agreed. Even without Anna being the one who'd injured her. "Give her some space, but don't give up. Something tells me she won't be eager to return to Feronda and she'll need some friends here."

"And if she does want to go home?"

"Then I'll do everything I can to make sure she can, even if it might take longer than the rest of the prisoners." Elsa thought the idea of holding prisoners to be distasteful, especially as she considered the attack an act by Queen Ava and not Feronda as a whole.

Maybe that made her weak, but she wasn't going to hold innocent people accountable for the crimes of one person. She wasn't her father or her grandmother, she was Elsa. But the questions still haunted her, "Do you think letting them take Queen Ava back to Feronda was a good idea?"

"Yeah. Maybe? I don't know." Anna moved away, across the hall to where Kristoff was recuperating. She paused in the doorway, "I think you made the honorable, morally correct choice. Whether or not it's the best choice? I guess we'll find out."

Elsa rubbed her hands worriedly. She'd made her decision, and she was going to have to live with it. She thought that she probably could.

"Elsa?"

Rapunzel's voice drew her attention down the hallway, and she forced herself to relax, giving her cousin a smile, "I was just about to have some tea. Would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to."

Rapunzel joined her and they walked in silence, Elsa letting her worry drain away to the back of her mind. Once they were in her rooms with a steamy kettle, she spoke, "I wanted to thank you. For coming and helping."

"Pssh," Rapunzel waved her hand, beaming. "How could I not help?"

"You were recovering from being poisoned," Elsa pointed out. "No one would have blamed you for staying home."

"I would have blamed me for staying home," Rapunzel countered softly. "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Cass and Eugene."

Her smile turned crooked, and she eagerly leaned forward on the table, "But I guess that's your job now, at least for Cass."

"Keeping an eye on her?" Elsa asked, lifting her cup to her mouth and pretending she didn't understand what Rapunzel was getting at. "I always thought she could keep an eye on herself."

"Well, yeah, Cass can take care of herself in a fight, but she hasn't always been the best at taking care of herself in other ways. She put me first, and Corona, and now you and Arendelle, but she doesn't make time for herself nearly as much as she should." Rapunzel leaned back, "Maybe the really sad thing is, I think she's just accepted that she'll never be… the first."

"The first?" Elsa frowned, setting her cup down. And even though she suspected where Rapunzel was going with this, she asked anyway, "What do you mean?"

"You know, the first in your heart. But you've got Anna, and Arendelle, and they'll always come first, no matter who you fall in love with. And that's...not your fault. Not my fault either." Rapunzel rubbed her fingers on the edge of the table. "No anyone's fault."

Elsa was silent for a long moment as she mulled over what Rapunzel said. It was, of course, entirely true. She hadn't really had the chance to make the choice on the mountain, between Anna and Cass. But she'd have chosen Anna, and they all knew it. Something hard settled inside her stomach. And above even her sister was her people.

She looked up at Rapunzel again, "How do you handle it?"

"Not very well," Rapunzel admitted, worrying at her lip. "But once, I had to send Eugene out into danger to protect Corona, even though I didn't want to risk him."

Soldiers had died for her. Guards. Even regular citizens had sacrificed themselves for Queen and Country. Elsa could all too easily imagine sending Cass to her death, or even Kristoff and Anna. It was enough to freeze her heart.

"I love being Queen," Elsa replied. "But sometimes, I really don't like being Queen."

Rapunzel looked at her with understanding in her eyes, "Someday, hopefully a long time from now, I'll have to step up too. I hope I can be half as good a Queen to Corona as you are to Arendelle."

Needing something to dispel the somber mood, Elsa stood up, "Let's find Olaf, I think we could both use his hugs right now."


	21. Clarity

Blood pooled on the ground and ran in rivulets, staining the snow. Cassandra pushed the body off of her blade, and as it fell it turned around. Cass watched as Elsa hit the ground and bled out. Her sword dropped from her grasp, clattering to the stone floor. Elsa's eyes were wide open, staring into nothing, and Cassandra realized she wasn't alone in death. Other bodied dotted the ground. Anna, Eugene, Rapunzel…

All dead at her hand.

She jerked awake, a soundless scream raw in her throat. Moonlight spilled through the window, forming a pattern on the floor and in the light her hands shook.

It was a stupid nightmare, she knew. Hans had deserved his fate, but she still felt uneasy, a strange sort of emotion gnawing at her gut. She wasn't sure it was _guilt_ exactly, but she remembered, faintly, something she'd overheard her father talking about with one of his guard captains.

 _"It changes you, killing a man. He could be the scum of the earth, a murderer. But that doesn't make it any easier. That's the difference between you and that murderer. He enjoyed it. We don't."_

More of the memory surfaced - there'd been some bandits and her father must have been comforting his friend. He wasn't here now, but she thought that he'd have similar words for her and it was a comforting feeling. That was the difference between her and Hans. Hans would not have stopped at just Elsa or Anna, or any of them. He had been ruthless and cruel, a wolf in the form of polite nobility.

Cass would only kill to protect others. She knew _that_ as well as she knew her feelings for Elsa, as well as she'd known her feelings for Raps. But as comforting as her father's voice in her head was, it wasn't enough.

A knock came at her door, and she knew who it was before she called out, "Come in."

Elsa slipped inside, closing it behind her and holding her robe close to her body, "Cass? I thought…. I heard something. Is everything okay?"

So maybe her scream had been less silent than she'd thought. Cass briefly considered waving it off, but she looked into Elsa's eyes and decided she wouldn't make the mistake of closing herself off. Not when they were alone. Not when Elsa looked at her like that. "I had a nightmare."

"Scoot over." Elsa let her robe flutter to the ground, revealing a thin nightgown. The moonlight shone through it, leaving little to Cass's imagination.

She felt her mouth go dry, but scooted over as directed, the bed sinking slightly as Elsa climbed in with her. She lay down on her side, Elsa mirroring the movement before she slid her arm around Elsa and pulled her close. Momentarily distracted by the scent of her and the feel of her body, she murmured, "How the hell are you so warm?"

She swore she could see Elsa blushing, "You just have that effect on me. Do you want me to cool us down?"

"Not even a little." Cassandra leaned in, brushing her lips against Elsa's. It was so light that she could barely feel it, but here, with Elsa so close she could assure herself that the nightmare had been just that.

Humming softly, Elsa slid her fingers into Cass's hair, waiting patiently.

"It's not the first time I've had it," Cassandra said. "It's you on the end of my sword, everyone else already dead. Like I'm somehow going to be responsible for killing everyone I love."

"You're the last person to hurt us," Elsa pointed out, her hand moving to Cass's cheek. "But dreams and nightmares, they don't always make sense. You feel bad about Hans, so your mind is finding ways for you to process that."

The lightness of Elsa's fingers on her face made Cass feel dizzy, "You don't think they're prophetic?"

Elsa laughed, the sound like bells to Cass's ears, "Impressions to the contrary, we don't live in a fairy tale."

Something loosened inside Cass's chest, making her feel both light and heavy. She didn't say anything, though she let herself get lost in Elsa's eyes.

"Cass?"

"Mm?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Elsa sat up on her elbow, peering down at her… girlfriend, she supposed.

"Anything, El."

Elsa trailed her fingers down Cass's cheek, stroking her jaw and then tracing patterns on her throat. "I don't want you to think that you're somehow less in my affections than Arendelle or my sister."

Cass swallowed hard, unable to disguise how tight her voice was, "I've always known that if you had to choose, it would be Anna. And I'm okay with that. Your sister, Arendelle, those are important."

"But part of you has always wanted to be the first choice."

At Elsa's statement, Cass felt her throat close up, and she only managed to whisper, "Maybe a little."

She felt Elsa's lips on hers again, gentle and sweet and loving, "You're important too, Cassandra. And I choose you first in all the ways that I can't choose anyone else."

Surging forward, Cass kissed Elsa back, needy and passionate, her hand rubbing down to Elsa's hip and her fingers bunching up the fabric of her nightgown. She pulled her head back, wrestling with the words she wanted to say and needed to say and never thought she'd be _allowed_ say. But all she could hear was the sound of Elsa's breath against her cheek and the pounding of her heart. Elsa's lips moved along her jaw and to her throat and Cass idly thought that Elsa seemed rather attracted to that spot.

Somehow, that thought helped and finally she managed to get the words out, "I love you."

Lifting her head, Elsa passed her thumbs along the sides of Cass's face, responding thickly, "I love you too."

She leaned in, catching Elsa's lips with her own again, feeling almost frantic as she whispered, in complete disbelief, "I love you."

Her hand pushed up Elsa's nightgown, touching, _finally_ , the soft, smooth skin of her leg. She moved her palm, a sound coming out of Elsa's mouth that twisted her insides and made her feel like she'd just caught fire.

And then Elsa pulled away and it was Cass making sounds, frustrated ones. But she watched as Elsa sat up and pulled her gown up over her head and tossed it somewhere near the weapons cabinet. Elsa was beautiful and Cass couldn't quite believe it. She wondered if she was dreaming again. How many nights had she woken up, skin hot, from a dream just like this?

Elsa quirked an eyebrow and Cass nearly melted. Before Elsa could say anything, she pulled her in, kissing her, running her hand up her side and back down again. Elsa's hands roamed across her chest, and down her sides, her fingers hiking up Cass's gown. She reluctantly removed her hands from Elsa's body, lifting her arms as Elsa disrobed her. She sat there, self-conscious.

"You're beautiful," Elsa murmured, shifting closer until their skin was touching and Cass thought that she might _literally die_ then and there. Elsa kissed her shoulder, "I love you."

She kissed Cass's chest, repeating those words like a mantra and as though she didn't realize she was going to make Cass cry.

Hesitating, Elsa lifted her head to look into Cass's eyes, "I want to touch you, everywhere you're comfortable with."

Smiling, Cass replied, "You will, and I want you to. But only after I'm done worshipping every inch of you."

Then, suddenly and with considerable strength, she rolled Elsa onto her back and lay half on top of her, the fingers of her left hand stroking little circles over Elsa's stomach.

Squirming under her touch, Elsa closed her eyes, moaning softly. Cass explored Elsa, first with her hand, then with her mouth as she leaned down and brushed her lips against a nipple. The skin of Elsa's thigh was warm under her palm. Slowly, Elsa's legs parted and Cass groaned against her skin at the feel of her.

Elsa's hips jerked under Cass's hand, and Cass propped herself up on an elbow to look down at her and tease, "Page 3-"

Staring back, eyes slightly glazed over and mouth hanging open, Elsa interrupted her, "No...no… let's write our own story."

"I love you," Cass whispered, sliding on top of Elsa and kissing her. She trailed kisses down her chest and her stomach, repeating the words every so often, until she pushed Elsa's legs up over her shoulders, sliding her hands along her thighs as Elsa squirmed at the teasing. "You know, I have some work I need to do tomorrow…"

" _Cass!_ " Elsa begged, digging her fingers into Cass's hair with sudden urgency and making her laugh.

The laugh trailed off, though Cass still felt that mirth deep in her chest. And when she was done, when Elsa had melted under her tongue and her fingers and she lay beside her, Cass traced patterns in her skin. As Elsa caught her breath and gazed at her with unrestrained love, her earlier words settled into Cass's heart.

 _Let's write our own story_.

With a sudden clarity, she knew that they were sharing something that was more than this moment.

It was this moment and every moment after.


	22. Epilogue: 3 Years Later

Cassandra had been in Arendelle for nearly three years. There were days she was too busy to think of anything but whatever was going on at that time and days where she had all the time in the world to reflect on her life and those around her. Cass couldn't ask for more, not as Arendelle's Royal Protector, or the friend and lover of the Queen. Though the anniversary flail that Elsa had gotten her last year hadn't hurt. She'd carried it around everywhere for a good month and still sometimes did so when she wanted to make the palace guards nervous. It didn't have the control of a mace or sword, but the momentum it could build up more than made up for that. The smashing capacity alone...

Anniversary weapons aside, it was a good life. A busy one, with people she loved. Cass was _happy_. The epiphany hit her like a brick to the head as she sat across from Elsa at breakfast. They usually took breakfast in Elsa's room. It was part of the morning ritual. Breakfast together (lunch, as always, belonged to Anna), go over the day's itinerary, occasionally get distracted. Frequently get distracted.

"Cass?"

Cass realized that she'd been distracted again, giving herself an internal shake as she looked at Elsa and _smiled_. Was this what Anna and Rapunzel felt like so much of the time? It was _terrifying_ but Cass resolved to ignore that terror. "Sorry, I was just thinking about you."

Elsa laughed, leaning her chin on her hand as she gazed at Cassandra. "I love you."

Cass wondered when the other shoe would drop. When something would happen to take her away from Elsa or Elsa away from her, or for Elsa to find someone better. That was why she felt so terrified of this strange and unusual sunshine that she felt beating in her chest. It was almost _suspicious_ how happy she was. How every morning she'd wake up next to Elsa and every evening she'd fall asleep spooned up with her. She shrugged that feeling off, knowing logically that it was just paranoia. "I love you too."

"I've been thinking about our plans," Elsa said, her toes tracing patterns on Cass's foot. "Do you have any suggestions as to timing?"

"We should do it in the spring," Cass suggested, pleased to be on the kind of subject she was good at. The planning anyway. What they were planning made that terror try to swallow her up. "Between yours and Anna's birthdays. Spring is always a good time for this kind of thing, though I could be convinced for fall if we're impatient."

Grinning, Elsa replied, "I'll always be impatient with you, but time to plan would be welcome."

Tabling that and trying to ignore the way Elsa's foot made her stomach do flips, Cass picked up her clipboard and flipped through the pages on it. She had a job to do. "We have a representative from Feronda next week. That should be fun. I'll beef up security."

"Maybe we can finally make some progress with them."

"My sources tell me they've been in chaos lately. Again. Another sibling vying for the throne, accusations of poisoning. Ever since Queen Ava was deposed they've been less than stable," Cass said. "It would be in our best interests to help them achieve some kind of stability."

Elsa nodded. "Let's hope they're willing to listen to reason this time. It feels a bit like playing dice, you never know what's going to come up."

Cass smiled ruefully. "Anyone is better than Geraldine the Mad."

After Ava, the next in line had been a brother. Things might have worked out if one of his sisters hadn't been ruthless and _she_ had forced Arendelle into several border skirmishes as well as sinking her country into untold misery before a popular uprising had placed another sister on the throne. Cass liked that one and hoped she could weather this new chaos. They could work with Queen Evelyn. No one wanted another Geraldine.

"That is a reason I never liked the idea of a big family," Cass joked. She got up from the table when Elsa did and let Elsa pull her into her arms. She let Elsa get away with a lot of things, but the hugs? The hugs were among the best. The only person that gave better hugs was Olaf.

Cass would never admit that to anyone, even under punishment of death.

"I'm happy with my family right now," Elsa said, leaning her forehead against Cass's. "You and Anna, Kristoff and Olaf. And our extended family down in Corona, of course."

Damn, another smile came to Cass's face. Elsa was killing her. "And we'll have a nice excuse for them to visit."

"We will." Elsa laughed, her eyes gleaming and her just-for-Cass smile twisting something in Cass's chest. The good kind of ache, that happiness again that had been so foreign to her for so long.

Their kiss was sweet, lingering as Elsa was obviously trying to delay the start to their official duties. Willing to indulge her, Cass almost didn't hear someone rush in.

She pulled her head back to glare at the interloper and Elsa said. "Unless someone is dead, dying, or pregnant, it can wait."

Anna shifted on her feet, bit her lip, and darted her eyes anywhere but her sister and friend. Rather than answer their question, she pointed at a large sword leaning against the far wall. "Oh hey, where'd that Zweihander come from?"

Squinting her eyes at Anna, Cass tilted her head, then glanced at Elsa. "Unless you want me to toss Kristoff into the ocean I think we need to make it a double wedding instead."

"Engagement pres-" Elsa's eyes widened, her response to Anna's question cut off as she caught on to what Cass was implying. " _Anna_!"

"Double wedding?" Anna said, instead of actually telling them the news that they'd already guessed. Her hands moved to cover her stomach, and then her eyes fell to a ring on Elsa's finger. Confusion turned into a mixture of joy and shock on her face. "Wait, _what_?!"


End file.
